


Hope Is a Disquieting Thing

by Sundaye



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: A combination of my top two obsessions, A sad lack of cool droids as of right now, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Star Wars, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, No graphic depictions of rape or sexual assault, Slow Burn, Still debating how many limbs will be lost in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2018-10-24 19:29:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 62,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10748292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sundaye/pseuds/Sundaye
Summary: Abram's father is one of the most powerful beings in the universe and he's spent years searching for his wife and son who stole millions of credits from the Empire and ran. They're two of the most wanted by the Empire for their dangerous insight into Imperial secrets. When a deadly confrontation with his father ends with Abram's mother's life, Abram must find a way to escape alone for the first time in his life.Meanwhile, smuggler and ex-Imperial laborer Andrew Minyard and his crew have lost an important ally to the Empire and are intent on rescuing him and returning him to the Rebellion.When the chance comes for Abram to flee Tatooine with Andrew's crew he dons a new alias, Neil, and takes it.Basically, this is a Star Wars AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I'm incredibly new to writing fic but I had this idea while writing something else and I really couldn't help myself. This is fairly short so far but I'll probably be updating it frequently since it involves two of my favorite things. (I'll probably add pairings and warnings as I go.)
> 
> This is unbeta'd so far (although I did run a quick edit over it) so please let me know if there are any huge mistakes. Also let me know if the Star Wars terminology gets confusing/too convoluted and I can add notes that might clear it up.
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

Abram pressed the sleeve of his jacket to his nose and inhaled the sharp scent of smoke still woven into its fibers. This smell, he told himself, was all that remained of his mother. If he turned back to stare at the reddened skyline of the backwater planet of Tatooine, he could still see the smoke coming off her body and disappearing into the glare of the setting suns.

Tears made Abram's vision sloppy but they didn't fall. He was too well-trained in controlling his emotions to let grief break through. He didn't have the time to mourn his mother like he wanted to. He couldn't spare the danger of tapping into that well of anger boiling in his core. Abram's own father had shown Abram the damage unchecked rage could reap--how many lives he could end with a simple clench of his fist.

Abram's mother's last words were still fresh in his mind. _Don't look back, don't slow down, and don't trust anyone. Be anyone but yourself, and never be anyone for too long._

He understood that game. They'd played it from planet to planet on the Outer Rim until his father had finally caught up with them. Infinite space in the universe and his father had still found them. Abram inhaled again the smell of his mother's body disappearing from time.

Abram still remembered the burning red glare of his father's lightsaber impaling his mother through the gut. The sick and sudden smell of charred flesh. He still remembered the Darkness, a cold weight under his skin, as he weilded it against his father.

Abram was numb from touching that power. It always made him feel like this. Empty. Like everything around him was solid but he was a void eating it away. Abram shivered and tucked his hands into his armpits.

Abram could never return to the tiny moisture farm he'd been maintaining with his mother. It had probably already been razed to the ground by his father's guards. The loss of the small home they'd inhabited the past few years made Abram's chest ache further before he cut that grief out, too.

Dim yellow light glowed misty in the distance, and Abram recognized his destination: Mos Eisley which held Tatooine's only spaceport. It was the first place his father would search for him, but Abram expected his father to take at least the duration of the night to recover from their confrontation. If he wanted off of Tatooine before being strangled in and trapped on the blasted planet, he needed to find transport fast.

Dull domed bulidings shaped themselves out of the horizon as Abram approached. He kept an eye on the shadows around him in case any raiders hoping to snag straggling travelers just outside town limits thought to get the drop on him.

Any wholesome, hardworking folk had already turned in for the night so they could get up early to work the next day. Living on this desert planet was a harsh cycle of work until your skin dried up and you could no longer move your joints and then get up the next day and do it over.

Abram had tasted richer luxuries in a past life, but they'd come at the cost of his freedom. He actually preferred the mundanity of his life on Tatooine even if he hated the climate, the sand, and the smallness of society. That small town mentality was supposed to have given Abram and his mother advantage when strangers, especially those working under the Empire, came to visit. Information circled quickly here on the ropes of bored gossip and lack of anything better to discuss. But that hadn't stopped Abram's father from surprising them when he came to call.

This planet which had provided false domestic peace for Abram and his mother for so long was nothing now but a painful reminder of their carelessness.

Abram entered the lowly lit streets of town like a Lothcat, slinking through the shadows carefully in case his father's men were keeping watch nearby. He stepped inside Chalmun's Cantina as soon as he reached it, eyes spanning the establishment at lightning speed to suss out any threats. It was unlikely a servant of the Empire would be caught in this degenerate den of criminals but it always paid to be safe.

Abram stepped up to the bar with affected swagger. He had a hand laid casually over his blaster the same way everyone else did. It wasn't a threat, it was a sign that you knew how things worked here. Abram leaned up onto the bar and passed another look over the Cantina's patrons. An unusually lively tune for a crowd so unpleasant was being played by a band of Bith by the wall.

Abram dodged a rough hand that had been about to grab for his shoulder. His blaster was out and pressed against the neck of the offending Aqualish whose wide dark eyes scrutinized Abram with no indication of its thoughts.

"Do you have business with me?" Abram asked coldly. He didn't like the spectacle he'd made of himself but he had no choice but to follow through now. Once this was settled everyone would go back to their dealings without care for either of them.

Abram could smell alcohol coming off of the creature in rank waves. His lip curled.

"Well?" Abram asked again.

" _Negola dewaghi wooldugger_!" The Aqualish gurgled out. Abram understood roughly what it was trying to say but the creature's friend cut in before he could admit it.

"He doesn't like you," the Aqualish's human companion explained.

"I gather. Get your friend to back off before he has one too many holes in his ugly mug." Abram snarled. He prodded harder with his blaster to drive the point home.

The threat didn't need translation. The human man grabbed his friend by the arm without protest and hauled him off, sending Abram a half-drunk glare that had zero affect on Abram's feelings. Abram tucked the blaster away and gave the patron next to him a cold smile when he caught them staring. As he predicted, everyone went back to their conversations and an immediate buzz of voices filled the room.

Abram had narrowed down possible smugglers to a handful when a human arm reached past him and slapped the bar loudly to grab the attention of the hulking man serving drinks. A black armguard covered the arm from wrist to elbow and Abram followed it up until he made eye contact with its owner.

A blond man who couldn't have been taller than five feet even stood just behind Abram with a painfully wide grin. There was a metal band circling the back half of his head that told Abram he had some sort of Imperial implant.

The implant was scuffed up like it had obviously been tampered with and the Empire's sigil was scraped off entirely. Abram had seen the likes of it before. This man had likely freed himself from full Imperial control and tracking but the implant could still affect his mood and probably flooded his brain with unnecessary information. The thought made Abram sick.

"Admiring the view?" The man asked Abram through his grin.

"Interested in the handiwork," Abram admitted, gesturing towards the implant.

"It's mediocre at best, I'll admit, but you take what you can get for 800 credits on one of these backburner outposts."

"That so?" Abram asked offhand. He was already done with this conversation. Reminders of the cruelty of the Empire chafed Abram too raw tonight.

"It is. Tell me, have you heard the one about the Hutt and the Sarlacc Pit?"

"I don't think I want to."

"Pity, it's a good one. I find your comedic taste 'laccing'."  
The man laughed like he'd already said the punchline but Abram didn't catch on.

"Andrew! There you are. We thought you'd skipped town you were taking so long," A voice called.  
The man named Andrew turned and Abram caught sight of a tall man with dark curly hair approaching them. Abram tried to position himself out of the conversation but Andrew pulled him back in with false cheer.

"Just chatting with the locals, Nicky. I find sandbreathers fascinating as you know," Andrew told the other man with a wide gesture towards Abram. Abram grimaced in return.

"Uh-huh. Well I can't blame your taste," Nicky said, eyes tracing Abram's form with far too detailed an eye for comfort. "But we actually should leave soon. Aaron's getting antsy and I think he's about to shoot that Rhodian over there."

"You children can't be left alone for 10 seconds. Shame."

Abram had a thought. "You have a ship?" He cut in.

Andrew and Nicky both turned to him. They shared a look.

"Depends," Andrew answered.

"On what?"

"On how much you're willing to pay for the right answer--Ah, and on the destination of course."

Abram did quick calculations on what he could spare at this point in his journey. He was desperate enough to pay almost anything if these men were willing to leave immediately, but he needed to think smarter than desperate.

"I have five thousand credits," Abram decided. He had much more than that but he didn't know how much he'd need to ration for the future to find a new place to hide from his father.

"Are you sure?" Andrew asked. His smile became dangerously sharp. "Ten thousand sounds more like the right amount to me."

"Ten thousand--are you kidding? I could buy my own ship for that!" Abram spluttered. Heads turned towards him and he ducked on instinct to avoid their gazes.

"Then you don't really need mine, do you? Ten thousand for an all-access luxury trip to somewhere. Or you can go haggle some rustbucket off of some reliable Jawa, I'm sure."

Abram's mouth twisted in distaste. Abram might be able to find a better price from someone else, but he didn't know if he'd do it in time.

"How many do you have on your crew?" Abram asked in an attempt to stall. "What kind of ship?"

"Three including myself and the fastest ship in the galaxy," Andrew replied without pause.

Someone pressed against Abram's back in their attempts to flag down a server and it made his shirt stick to the sweat of his back. He felt closed in suddenly. Andrew reached around Abram and shoved the drunken creature away. His manic grin was now unreadable to Abram who could not understand why he'd helped him.

"Well?" Andrew asked.

"Fine," Abram conceded. "Ten thousand. But only five now and five after I get where I need to go."

"And where is that exactly?" Andrew inquired.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out. I'll make sure it aligns with your route."

"Interesting. A runner with no place to go, huh?"

That mark hit a little close to home.

"Nine thousand now, one later," Andrew changed topics with whiplash speed. Abram took a second to realize he was bartering prices again.

"Six," Abram offered.

"Eight."

"Seven and a half."

"Sold! To the scrawny hick from the armpit of the galaxy! Come to think of it, what's your name again?"

"Neil," Abram said without thought. He needed to put another name between his father and himself. He let the new alias attach itself to him. Become him.

"Perfect, we got ourselves some eye candy. Now let's hurry up before Aaron gets us into a messy shoot-out," Nicky interjected.

"Quiet, Nicky. The adults are talking business," Andrew pressed a finger to Nicky's lips. Nicky's expression fell into irritation but he didn't bat the hand away.

"Talk while we walk. Let's go," Nicky said behind the finger. Neil agreed with Nicky's urgency.

"You need to grab anything before we leave?" Andrew asked Neil. Neil shook his head. Everything he owned was in the pack on his back.

"Our journey begins, then. And it starts with bailing my dear baby brother out yet again."

Nicky and Andrew split from the bar and into the growing crowd of ruffians occupying the Cantina. Neil took a single breath to quiet his heart. This was his first real step on the run without his mother. He repeated her warnings in his mind and followed the two men who now held an unfortunately large hand in Neil's future. He hoped he wasn't being led closer to his death. He hoped he was betting on the right ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment if you have any thoughts/liked this story! (Also if there are any inconsistencies or I mucked up something from the Star Wars universe please let me know.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicky is still a terrible driver in space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for the amazing feedback guys! I'm so glad you're enjoying this AU as I'm absolutely in love with both Star Wars and the AFTG series. You're all amazing!
> 
> I'm probably going to keep putting up shorter chapters on this story so I can post them more frequently (since I've only got about 5K total on it right now). I'm slowly but surely chipping away at the plot. This will probably be a longer piece but I'm hoping it'll be worth the read.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Aaron turned out to be an almost identical copy of his brother. The differences between the two were mostly found in what Aaron was lacking: Andrew's feverish grin, his black arm guards, and a tampered cybernetic implant that signified Andrew's abandoned past as an Imperial laborer.

The first thing Aaron did when he met Neil was shoot his blaster a breath over Neil's shoulder. Neil ducked, his own blaster out and aimed toward the short stack of hostility. Andrew slapped Neil's hand down before he could act and Neil cursed. Neil heard a strange sound in the sudden chaos of the Cantina. When he found its source, he realized it was Andrew doubled over in laughter.

"Pfassk, Aaron what the hell was that?" Nicky shouted. He threw his hands up behind his head and threaded his fingers through his hair in exasperation.

Aaron was clearly drunk and instead of answering he wagged his blaster lazily at the smoking corpse of a Rhodian on the Cantina floor. His eyelids fell low and he lifted the side of his mouth in satisfaction. Nicky cursed colorfully and grabbed his swaying companion under the arm, dragging him hastily away from the scene.

"Come along sandboy, you've got a ride to catch," Andrew called as he slipped through the crowd. Neil focused on the bright blond of his hair and followed it out into the night.

Creatures of every species were flowing out of the Cantina, likely trying to avoid getting caught up in a riot. A blaring Imperial alarm screamed into the air and Neil's heart jumped into hyperdrive. This was the exact opposite of the attention he wanted to bring to himself.

Neil fought through the panicked criminals to chase Andrew who was still flitting rapidly between bodies. Troopers were starting to flood the streets at an alarming rate. Neil wondered how many were there accompanying his father. He put his head down and bulled on.

When Neil and Andrew were free from the crowd they kept running until they reached a ramshackle freighter in one of the docking bays. Neil thought there was no way this was the ship they were going to use to attempt to outrun the Empire--and his father--until Andrew jogged over to it.

"This is the fastest ship in the galaxy?" Neil huffed as he caught his breath. It looked like it could barely leave Tatooine's orbit.

"Right on the first try!" Andrew quipped back. He shot Neil a laser-sharp grin.

The gang plank was down already, soft white lights lining its path. Andrew trotted into the ship without checking to see if Neil followed.

The interior of the ship wasn't more promising than the outside. Almsot everything looked like spare parts patched together in the heat of the moment. Neil ran a doubtful hand over the surface of mismatched metal and regretted ever speaking to Andrew or Nicky.

The ship jolted and hummed with energy as they prepared for take off. Neil rushed toward the cockpit and found a passed-out Aaron strapped to one of the passenger benches.

"Neil!" Nicky yelled from one of the pilot seats. "You know how to shoot? I think we might have company soon!"

"I can figure it out!" Neil called back. "Where's the gun?"

"Straight down the ladder!" Nicky directed.

The freighter jerked and suddenly they were moving. Neil stumbled into the wall painfully and found the ladder Nicky had been referring to. He slid down it and jumped into the gunner seat just as a blast knocked them in the side.

Neil worked his hands over the controls, figuring them out swiftly. It was crude compared to some of what he'd handled before, but it wasn't the crudest. Neil clasped the triggers and aimed, the seat swivelling with the gun as it moved on target.

An Imperial TIE Fighter was shooting at them. As usual, Neil was astounded at how poorly Academy-trained pilots could aim. All that advanced tech and they couldn't hit the broad side of a moon. Neil felt the cruel cut of his father's smile slit across his face as he pressed down on the trigger. The TIE transformed into a ball of flame and Neil swivelled quickly to catch the next one in his sights.

A comm somewhere within the ship's walls whooped as Nicky caught sight of the wreckage Neil was leaving behind.

"You guys ready to blow this outpost?" Nicky's voice called.

"Get us the pfassk out of here," Neil yelled back.

"As you wish!"

Nicky's piloting left much to be desired. It felt like he was trying to break the laws of the Force the way he whipped them all back and forth. His wildcard flying style left the Empire's fighters in a wake of dusty sand, though, and Neil was grateful when they shot into the darkness of space. They made a quick jump and suddenly Tatooine was a speck on a very distant map who-knew-how-far away from them.

Neil eased his stiff posture and unbuckled himself from his seat. His hands were cramped from how tight he'd been holding the control stick.

Neil returned to the passenger compartment connected to the cockpit and felt petty satisfaction at the sight of Aaron vomiting into an empty cargo container. The idiot had almost gotten everyone on his crew (and worst of all, Neil) killed over a single shot from his blaster. Neil left the pitiful man to his puke and went to speak with Nicky and Andrew.

"Amazing shooting down there," Nicky remarked. Adrenaline made his eyes shine like he could go another ten rounds against a squad of TIE Fighters.

"You drive like a drunken Bantha," Neil replied. His stomach was still finding its way back to his body.

"A drunken Bantha who can fly us out of any tight spot," Nicky boasted.

"Speaking of drunken Bantha's, where is my brother dear?" Andrew asked. His eyes were duller now, like the influence of the implant had lessened.

"He's barfing today's dinner up," Neil said. "I understand the feeling."

"Idiot," Andrew sighed. "He usually knows his limits."

Andrew left his brother at that and turned his attention to Neil with a hand held out. "Payment? I think we settled on eight thousand now and four later?"

Neil rolled his eyes. "Nice try."

Neil dug around in his pack and pulled out the seven and a half thousand credits due. He wasn't sure how much of this investment was a waste on this questionable group of scoundrels, but he did make a promise earlier and there was no use in backing out of a deal. Neil handed the credits over. Andrew inspected his payment with a seasoned eye and nodded when he was satisfied.

"So, runaway, have you thought of your destination yet?" Andrew asked.

Neil was still unsure where his next stop should be. He wanted to randomize his path somewhat so his father had a harder time tracking him down. He knew he needed to end up on the outer rim but it would be some time before his father stopped ripping up the floorboards of every dinky planet out there until he found his only son.

"I'll ride along with you until I decide to get off," Neil decided. "If that's ok."

"You sure?" Andrew said. His eyes were bright again and his smile stretched wider. "You might not like where you end up if you stick to the likes of us."

Neil wasn't sure if it was a threat or for show but he highly doubted he could be intimidated by whatever Andrew brought before him. He'd seen his father torture a man and force him to cut each of his own fingers off. He'd witnessed Inquisitor Lola dissect a child's mother as they watched. He still remembered their agonized cries.

"I'm sure I can handle myself fine," Neil assured Andrew.

"What an interesting expression. You really believe it, don't you? I guess you haven't learned enough to know better. Not yet." Andrews fingers tapped restlessly over the material of his armrest.

"Well where are you headed next?" Neil demanded. He was sick of playing games when he spoke to Andrew. The day was catching up to him and weariness was settling into his bones. The cold of the Darkness was still there, thick in his chest, though he'd kept it at bay this long.

"We're going to pick up a friend of ours. Near here, actually, shouldn't take too long. You can stay on the ship if you want, if you promise not to steal all the complimentary snacks," Andrew told him flippantly.

Neil could handle lying low on the ship. If things got hairy, he wasn't above stealing it and escaping on his own. He nodded.

"Fine. I'll tag along while you get your friend. And then we'll see from there."

"Great. Wonderful," Andrew said slyly through his teeth.

"If that's settled, then." Neil wanted to get away from Andrew and meditate for a bit. His lips were starting to feel numb and he needed to calm himself down.

"I'll see myself to the passenger compartment."

"See you later, Neil," Nicky called. Neil waved thoughtlessly and left the cockpit.

Aaron was passed out again and Neil might have thought he'd died except for the light snores he could hear sniffling out of the other man. Neil left him be and got comfortable in one of the seats nearby. He closed his eyes and retreated from the world. This was a familiar practice.

Neil let grief for his mother overtake him like a river rushing over a stone. He sat through it until he could feel it ebb away. Neil let his anger towards his father and the Empire rain down on him like white hot lava and strengthened himself against it. Neil let his fear squeeze in around him like a windstorm crying into his ears until it quieted to a gentle breeze. When he'd found the balance within himself the Darkness slipped away in the Force and he could breathe again.

Neil opened his eyes and saw that Aaron was awake and observing him.

"What the pfassk was that?" Aaron slurred. He was still drunk then.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Neil answered calmly.

"That bag. It was floating by your head," Aaron struggled to say. "It was...glowing?"

"You're drunk. You didn't see anything." Neil nudged gently on Aaron's weakened consciousness with the Force. He didn't enjoy using it like this, or using it at all, but he needed to protect his identity.

Aaron's eyes went completely blank.

"I'm drunk," Aaron repeated distantly. "I didn't see anything."

"Good boy," Neil soothed. "Now go back to sleep." Aaron complied.

As soon as Aaron's eyes slipped shut again, Neil tore his pack open and pushed its contents aside until he found a palm-sized cyrstalline pyramid made of smaller pieces that locked tightly together. The Holocron's core was dark and Neil breathed a sigh of relief.

The Holocron was a relic of Neil's childhood. Terrible, powerful secrets of the universe were embedded in this unseeming device. It could only be unlocked using the Dark Side of the Force and it had been part of Neil's training under his father to do so. The brief moment Neil had stared wholly into the red glow of the unlocked Holocron had almost pulled him into the Dark Side completely. He carried it now to remind himself of the pain that power could bring him, and to keep it out of his father's hands.

Neil wrapped the Holocron thickly in one of his spare shirts and stuffed it back into his pack. His fingers were trembling. He squeezed his hands together and lay down on his back.

Aaron's subtle snores had resumed and along with the sounds of the ship hurtling through space around them Neil was lulled into a half-sleep. He let his mind comb out different paths he could take from this point on, reviewing some of his mother's past contacts that could be useful. It would be harder to deal with them without his mother's influence, but Neil could do it.

When Neil did finally surrender entirely to sleep he dreamt of nothing but sand and heat and twin suns in a clear sky. They were almost pleasant dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think so far! The next chapter will probably be longer. I'll try to finish it quickly and post asap.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar character makes an appearance as Andrew's crew stops to gather some information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy MAY THE FOURTH, Everybody! In honor of this au and one of my favorite days of the year, I'll be dropping chapters throughout the day. I'm not sure how many yet, as I haven't finished writing & editing. 
> 
> This one is pretty short, but some exciting stuff will be following it up. 
> 
> Again, thank you all so much for reading and for the lovely feedback. May the Force be with you. (Always.)

Neil felt the disturbance before Andrew's voice woke him. The lights of the cabin had dimmed so when his eyes snapped open they adjusted quickly enough he didn't recoil. His other senses had slipped outward and Neil had to refocus himself from the far reaches of the galaxy.

"Pit stop," Andrew chirped with a curious tilt to his head. His eyes were glazed like there was a different pane of reality between him and this one.

Neil sat up and uncurled his arms from around his pack. His mouth felt like he'd eaten sand. Knowing Tatooine, some part of Neil was probably now entirely composed of sand that would never go away.

"Ok?" Neil prompted as he tried to swallow the dryness away, "Do you need something?"

Andrew was still staring through him. Neil wondered if Imperial data was spitting itself into Andrew's brain. He thought maybe Andrew was used to being in several places at once.

"There's something off about you," Andrew said slowly. His head ticked to the other side. "Something that doesn't add up."

Neil's gut coiled. He ignored it with the ease of practice. Neil leaned back casually against the metal of the ship and made a show of searching for something in his pack like the conversation wasn't worth his full attention.

"I'm sorry. I don't understand," Neil replied smoothly. He pulled out a crinkled nutrition bar and peeled it open. The bite he took from it was the blandest bite he'd taken of anything. But he didn't want the bar for its flavor, just its much-needed protein.

"I think you do. Oh don't sweat so much, Neil," Andrew cooed, over-sweet, "I''ll figure you out eventually. You can keep juggling your lies for the others. I won't tattle yet. If they can't figure it out themselves they're too stupid to keep around." He set a finger to his lips as he closed them up in a wide smile.

Andrew's eyes returned to the present so his pupils were pinpricks of black targeting Neil. Neil made his mouth an unimpressed flat line.

"You said we’re making a stop?" Neil asked around a mouthful of the nutrition bar.

Andrew raised an eyebrow to let Neil know he was aware that Neil was deflecting by changing the subject. He exposed his teeth and tapped his fingers along his chin restlessly. He eventually decided to play along and answered.

"Checking in on an old, ah, acquaintance. He's giving us something for the road," Andrew explained unhelpfully, "Shouldn't take more than a minute to retreive it."

"Do you want me to help or something?"

"Why, Neil, how thoughtful of you. Now that you do mention it it'd be super if you could join us," Andrew gushed with such shallow pleasantry it rounded out to animosity.

Neil understood that he was being chaperoned and he couldn't refuse. He folded the wrapper of his nutrition bar down, resigned to be dragged along to some shady pebble on the outer rim.

"Alright, then," Neil conceded, "Are we leaving now?"

Instead of answering, Andrew stood and kicked his still-sleeping brother lightly to rouse him. Aaron jerked awake then groaned at the movement, grabbing his head like he was trying to stop it from melting apart.

"Rise and shine, Bantha-breath," Andrew called cheerily down at his struggling twin.

"Eat dosh," Aaron whined back.

"Rude," Andrew remarked, not in the least bit offended.

Andrew left for the cockpit and Aaron collected himself unsteadily. Neil didn't want to start a conversation with the hungover man so he pretended to rearrange everything in his pack and when that stopped seeming natural, examined the inner mechanisms of the freighter in detail.

"Landing soon, hold on tight!" Nicky called suddenly from the cockpit. Neil remembered their rocky escape from Tatooine and secured himself in a seat as they broke through the atmosphere of whatever planet their pit stop rested on.

The stop turned out to be a seedy establishment that resembled Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine far too well. Neil supposed that every dingy hub of interplanetary criminals probably looked the same no matter what planet, moon, or rock you ended up on.

There was a smell in the air that probably shouldn't have seen daylight (which it still was) and only the severely drunk or leery scraped up from the bottom of the barrel remained inside. Neil thought Nicky was lucky to miss this experience as he stayed behind to watch the ship.

A weary-eyed Ithorian wiped down a grubby bar as a glitchy holocast from the Empire played above him on mute. Andrew led the group into the dimness of the bar.

"Can I help you?" The Ithorian asked through a translator mouthpiece.

Neil abstained as Aaron and Andrew ordered a round of drinks. Neil never drank; it was too risky to loosen his control like that. After receiving their drinks, the three of them easily found a table near the back and sat down. The surface of the table was still sticky from the night before--probably from every night before since the institution's founding.

"Andrew! My friend! So good to see you," A lively voice called as an older Weequay bustled in. He wore a black riding helmet with flying goggles pulled up atop it. His leathery skin was reddish with pale streaks and he had several short tusks lining his jawline.

“And who is this new face? Hondo Ohnaka, at your service,” Hondo introduced himself with a bow.

“Neil,” Neil offered with a wary nod of his head.

“Charmed,” Hondo replied with a wide, friendly smile. He observed Neil like he was pricing everything he owned top to bottom.

"Hondo," Andrew interrupted with his own smile that could not exactly be classed as friendly, "Your intel on Tatooine was less helpful than you led me to believe."

"What? No, no, you asked me for information on where any Imperial Star Destroyers in the system were planning to attack and I gave you the exact location of the nearest one! Not helpful? I think not, my little friend."

Hondo was the most distracting creature Neil had ever seen. He spoke fast with expansive hand gestures and had a way of putting himself over-familiarly in your personal space.

"You led us to Darth Asmenys, 'friend'," Andrew informed him, "I distinctly remember requesting the locations of any Inquisitorial Star Destroyers, not certain death."

"The Butcher?" Hondo gasped dramatically, "That can't be. What brings the Emperor's attack dog out this way? Most troubling. Most troubling indeed."

Neil's chest constricted at the sound of his father's title. Both his Sith name and the name the underworld had given him. They were equal reminders of his talent for killing. He'd destroyed an entire generation of Jedi in a single evening. He'd killed thousands of soldiers alone on the battlefield with nothing but the Force and his lightsaber.

Neil was lucky Andrew and Hondo were distracted by their own conversation. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He could still feel his father's power in his mind, twisting, burning.

"This time," Andrew was saying, "I don't want to be led on a wild nexu hunt. If the intel is bad I won't be returning for a candid visit."

"Of course, of course," Hondo agreed easily. He was honey and oil, slippery. Neil knew you could only trust a person like this if you paid well enough. Everything about him yelled 'pirate.'

"I do have coordinates for another Star Destroyer that fits your description. I did not think, earlier, that it was relevant because there is no record of any prisoners on its passenger log, or any orders to attack. But it could be what you're looking for," Hondo claimed.

"Good," Andrew replied, teeth bared, "It better be worth my credits."

A distasteful pit of dread had been forming in Neil's gut as Hondo schmoozed Andrew with flowery reassurances. Gathering intel on Star Destroyers did not sound like benign smuggler antics. It sounded more like dealings with the Rebellion.

After the customary round of negotiations and barter, Hondo agreed to a discounted cut of payment for the information. Credits changed hands and they left. The sound of Hondo's voice as he roped a nearby patron into some sort of heist followed them out the door.

This planet, Neil wasn't sure of its name, was dusty like most on the outer rim. There were reedy trees and dry grasses coloring an otherwise gray view between poorly constructed buildings that looked like they'd been hit by one too many storms.

The freighter was parked in a clearing on a bald spot of the ground that signified this was a popular landing spot for those who didn't want to go through the hassle of an official docking bay. Nicky must have spotted them approaching because he let down the gangplank to allow them back onto the ship.  
  
As soon as they were on the ship, Neil had two fistfuls of Andrew's shirt and was pushing him back against the wall. Andrew's expression didn't falter, if anything his grin widened and he tilted his chin back in amusement. Neil realized why when he felt a knife pressed to his ribs under one arm, one wrong move and Neil would be bleeding out in some shitty cargo freighter. He didn't let it shake his anger.

"You lied to me," Neil snarled, "What are you doing chasing down an Imperial Star Destroyer?"

"A liar calling me a liar? Now isn't that a kick in the pants. I don't think I ever lied to you. In fact, I told you we were going to pick up a friend and that's exactly what we're doing," Andrew responded.

"Lying by ommission, then." Neil wouldn't let Andrew brush this off. "Going against the Empire? Are you crazy?"

"Why, yes, Neil, I am. You haven't noticed by now? And I thought you were smarter than that. My mistake."

"What, then, are you part of the Rebellion? Is this some sort of suicide mission?"

"There are easier ways to kill yourself than for the greater good, but I'm not interested in dying either way. I just have a promise to keep," Andrew answered cryptically.

Neil was so tempted to choke the life out of this infuriating man. He'd inherited his father's rash temper instead of his mother's cool-headed anger and it was difficult for him to reign it in. He let Andrew go with a frustrated yell.

"I'm not going with you," Neil said as Andrew spun his knife lazily in one hand.

"Oh? So you want to get off here?" Andrew asked, "Dandy. I'll take the rest of those credits then." Andrew tucked the knife into a camouflaged sheathe in one of his black arm guards.

"I'm sure you'll make a nice home for yourself here. At least until whoever it is you're running from catches up to you. Not my problem, though," Andrew held a hand out like he expected Neil to pay him for his lies.

Neil's nostrils flared. One of his hands was squeezing the strap of his pack like it would calm him down. The other clenched and unclenched in a fist by his blaster.

He knew Andrew was right. Getting off on this dust bunny would strand him for who knows how long and the likelihood of his father finding him was higher than he was comfortable settling with. But heading straight for an Imperial Star Destroyer to bust some lowlife prisoner out was an even riskier option.

Not for the first time, Neil wished he’d never stepped onto Andrew’s clunky freighter to embark on this stupid journey.

Andrew and his makeshift crew of assholes didn't stand a chance. They would be caught and imprisoned and tortured and worse when their minds were probed and the Empire recognized Neil as their previous passenger. It would lead the Empire to Neil's hideout within days. Days that might not be enough to orchestrate an escape.

They would be captured. There was not doubting it. And Neil would be damned. Unless he helped them.

Andrew was watching Neil think with uncharacteristic silence. He still looked amused at the turmoil Neil seemed to be in as he tapped his fingers against his crossed arms in a thoughtless dance.  
  
A plan formed in Neil's mind. The narrowest chance of his survival mapped itself out. It would be like flying through a nebula in a podracer but if he could pull it off, it could mean saving his life. It was this or kill Andrew and his entire crew and that tactic landed too closely to his father's methods for Neil to accept.

"Fine," Neil decided, "I'll go with you. I'll even help you. But only if we follow my plan."

Andrew cocked his head curiously. His fingers stilled.

"What makes you think I trust some skittish Loth-cat to lead us in and out of a Star Destroyer without handing us over to the Empire?" Andrew asked.  
  


"I think you'll trust me because it's the only way we'll be able to pull this off," Neil said honestly.

Andrew examined Neil like he could read his mind. He got that cloudy look in his eyes that made Neil think he was looking at something in an entirely different galaxy. Then, they cleared up and he cocked a pale eyebrow at Neil.

“I’ll listen to your plan, and if it’s stupid, I’ll ignore it. And you can wait out the rest of your life on this dustball,” Andrew acquiesced.

Neil folded his hands in a steeple as he picked out the first steps in his plan they'd need to address. It would take a decent amount of time and effort, but nothing beyond their capabilities. First step. He looked at Andrew.  
  
And then he braced himself and said something he really didn't want to. 

"Okay, first I need you to punch me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Also, I'm trying to incorporate different languages into this au and I found a Sith translator that for some reason kept using Lithuanian in combination with Sith. So there might be some of that peppered in, but I'm trying to keep it to a minimum.)
> 
> Thank you for reading! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crew Infiltrates a Star Destroyer *cue theme*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.

"This is so stupid," Aaron muttered as they stepped into the hangar bay.

Neil ignored him and tested the fake stun cuffs around his wrists. He'd had to leave both his blaster and his pack locked up in a hidden compartment on the ship and without them he felt naked. He only hoped Nicky was too smart to snoop through his things. Neil had a specific way of packing his belongings and he'd also booby-trapped their hiding place.

The hangar was vast and swarming with different classes of TIE-fighters. Everyone that passed them wore the dull Imperial uniforms that ranged from white to gray to black. Squads of troopers and fighter pilots passed through walking in absolute unison like they'd been programmed to step together in perfect time. Looking at the implant his companion bore, Neil guessed it was likely they actually had been. 

Andrew had Neil in a loose grip by the elbow as Aaron led them to a stiff-backed, pallid-skinned man accompanied by two stormptroopers and a black KX-series security droid. The insignia on his uniform boasted that he was a general. The anxious look he shot Neil and the twins, and his subtle fidgeting made Neil think that maybe someone of higher rank was also aboard the ship to breathe down the general's neck.

"This is your bounty?" the general tried to ask them with authority.

The general looked Neil up and down and Neil considered what a pathetic bounty he appeared to make: short, thin, and sun burnt. Neil maximized his woeful appearance by slouching weakly and tossing his head as if dazed. In preparation for their charade earlier, Neil had Andrew punch him in the face. The other man had gleefully complied so Neil now sported a lovely shiner and a fat lip.

"This is him," Andrew answered, "Picked him up wasted on Tatooine. Was making big noise about the Empire. Kept going on about someone called _Jen'Woyunoks_. When we searched it up on the HoloNet, we found out he might be worth a pretty cred."

The general had been eyeing Andrew's busted Imperial implant warily as Andrew spoke. It wasn't uncommon for ex-Imperial laborers (a euphemism for "Imperial slaves") to become smugglers, pirates, or rebels after freeing themselves from Imperial control. If he was going to mention it, the thought slipped away when he heard the Old Tongue. Any officer in the Empire could recognize it, and knew it involved the Sith, and thus the Emperor himself, if they heard it.

The general was sweating even harder now, but his anxiety had changed in its nature. Neil could see now that ambition shone in his beady eyes. That was one of many weaknesses of the Empire. Every officer was shooting too high for their own damn good, and not a one of them had decent aim. It made ruses like this even easier to pull off as they were blinded to caution in their hastiness to claim every achievement as their own.

"Right," the general said, licking his lips, "Why don't I have him escorted to the cell bay while you get your payment. Do you have your permit on you?" He motioned the troopers forward.

Andrew pulled out a superficially well-forged bounty hunter permit--one Neil had crafted himself. If scrutinized even a little carefully, anyone worth their salt would have found several flaws in the permit. If you calculated Andrew's age from the birth date listed, for one, you'd find he was actually 97 years old. The general was too antsy to analyze the permit in front of him, though. Neil could tell he wanted this matter tied up as quickly as possible with a nice bow to present to the Emperor before someone else could claim the credit.

"I'll have someone transfer the appropriate payment to your account, Mr. Jabba," The general said with a forced smile as he handed the permit back over.

'Mr. Jabba' took it with a smirk and tucked it away. "Actually," he started, "I was thinking you could pay me directly. You see last time I brought someone in to the Empire they paid me half what was listed on the 'Net. And I'm thinking I don't want a repeat of that sort of...accident."

Obvious irritation swept over the general's features.

"I'm sure that isn't necessary," the general reasoned, "I can assure you that we will pay all that's due to you. There's no need for me to involve myself in financial trivialities."

"No, of course not," Andrew conceded. He pulled his blaster nonchalantly as if he were wielding a toy. "It's just, I was already speaking with another buyer willing to pay very nicely for him. Dead or alive."  
  
Andrew aimed the blaster at the side of Neil's head.

"Your ship was closer so I thought I might stop in and hear your counter-offer, but if you're not interested I can just be on my way," Andrew bluffed. Neil was impressed with his acting skills. Or maybe that indifference was a side-effect of the implant.

"No!" the general shouted hastily. His hands were up as if he could stop blaster-fire with them by will alone. "No, I would be glad to give you your payment personally. Just. Put that thing away and I'll have my guards escort the prisoner."

"That sounds like a deal," Andrew said. He lowered the blaster, but didn't tuck it away.

Neil, for his part, still acted as if he were feeling the effects of both a hangover and a concussion. He stumbled heavily as he changed hands from Andrew to one of the stormtroopers. They searched him briskly for weapons, and finding nothing, led him away from the exchange happening in the hangar.  
  
Andrew caught Neil's eye from behind the general and tapped two fingers to the implant in a mocking salute. Neil returned the gesture with a brief lift of one eyebrow before letting himself get dragged out of sight.

Neil's eyes darted hungrily around the ship as they walked. He already had several potential pathways of escape planned by the time they reached the cells. As soon as they reached an empty hallway, Neil tapped into the Force and pushed.

Both guards shot away from him and landed on their asses with a clatter. One of them had better reflexes than the other and shot his blaster at Neil who dodged it effortlessly as he worked the cuffs off of his wrists. Neil continued to dodge the blasts until he grew tired of it and forced the gun from the trooper's grip. It landed neatly in his own palm.

"What the--" the trooper tried to yell. Neil had him stunned too soon for him to finish the statement.

The other guard had gained his bearings and backed away from Neil with a shout, shooting rapidly. A hand went up to the side of his helmet like he was going to call for backup but Neil shot him before he could do any damage.

The ruckus they'd caused would probably bring reinforcements in a matter of minutes so Neil dragged the unconscious bucketheads into an empty cell and closed the door behind them. He bound the troopers with their own stun cuffs and confiscated their blasters. For good measure, Neil stripped one of them and donned their armor so he would blend in more easily if he ran into any trouble.

Neil slipped back out into the hallway and pulled a mini data spike from the sole of his boot. He spotted a nearby data port and got to quick work hacking into the prisoner logs of the ship.

Hondo had been right when he said there was no record of any prisoner on board. At least if you weren't tapped into the ship's records directly. Once Neil had the information decrypted and stored onto the spike, he could hook it up to the trooper helmet he was wearing and use it to track down Andrew's friend. He only hoped the twins could distract the general long enough that he didn't come searching for Neil.

A list of names flickered through the display inside the helmet for Neil to scan until he found the one he needed. He ran while he searched, peeking into different cells in case someone was being held inside.

"Come on, come on," Neil muttered.

There. Kevin Day. Neil pressed a button on the side of his helmet and pulled up the file on Kevin. He was surprised to find out that the man he was rescuing was actually a Senator from Alderaan who was captured on suspicion of being a Rebel spy.

Neil groaned. Andrew said he wasn't affiliated with the Rebellion, but it had been another lie by omission. Neil kicked himself for not thinking this prisoner could have been a rebel instead. It was no use getting upset now, Neil thought. He had to get out of this sticky situation before he jumped to the next one.

Kevin was being held in a corridor of cells for high-level prisoners and threats to the Empire. It meant that Neil would have to find a way to sneak past several more stormtrooper guards. Luckily, stormtroopers were heavily manipulated by the Empire and their minds were weaker than putty.

"Halt," one of said guards called as Neil approached, "Identification and Clearance."

"I'm escorting Senator Day to speak to the general." Neil waved a hand in front of the trooper's helmet and applied the barest influence of the Force.

"You're escorting Senator Day to speak to the General," the trooper echoed.

"You will let me through."

"I will let you through." The trooper pressed the release on the door separating them from a hallway of highly secured cells.

"There's nothing to see here," Neil ordered the troopers guarding each cell. They repeated the phrase back in unison and forgot that Neil existed.

Neil confiscated one of the guards' key cards to unlock Kevin's cell and stepped inside. It was dark enough that Neil was glad the helmet he was wearing adjusted automatically for maximum visibility. The facilities, it seemed, included only a hard metal bench, a port to relieve yourself, and soft lights that lined the bottom of the walls.

"Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" a dry voice inquired from the bench.

Kevin Day lay bored on his side with one elbow propping him up. The dark circles under his eyes gave away how little sleep he'd gotten since being imprisoned, and the shaking in his limbs told Neil that despite his bravado he was scared for his life.

"Funny," Neil deadpanned in response. He pulled his helmet off as he approached Kevin.

"My name's Neil," Neil explained, "I'm here on behalf of Andrew to free you."

Kevin sat up, his eyes wide. The relief on his face made Neil uncomfortable. He'd never had anyone give him a look that hopeful when they met him.  
  
"Andrew?" Kevin asked, "Andrew's here?" Kevin ran a hand over the stubble on his face in disbelief. He looked like he might cry, and Neil was definitely not having any of that.

"We have to move quickly," Neil said in lieu of answering. Kevin gathered himself and stood, ready. The immediate switch into this calm persona was evidence of his political background. Neil pulled his helmet on and nodded in approval.

"I'm going to lead you back to Andrew's ship, but first we need to get you a disguise. Try to act as naturally as possible. I'll deal with any problems if we run into them."

A kidnapped guard and a quiet scuffle later and Kevin was dressed up in full buckethead attire. The two newly, and entirely falsely, inducted stormtroopers stepped out into the hallway and exited the cell bay, unharassed.

The journey back to the hangar was uneventful until a clanging alarm started blaring through the halls of the Destroyer. Kevin tensed up like he'd start running and Neil had to grab his arm to stop him.

"We're not guilty," Neil reminded Kevin, "unless we run."

Kevin relaxed and settled back into a militant stride. Neil hoped that the reason the alarm had sounded was because they'd found the unconscious guards that Neil had ditched earlier and not because they'd realized Kevin had been sprung.

"You there!" Someone called from behind them, "We're on high alert--why aren't you reporting to your commanding officer?"

Neil swiveled and thought of a lie, fast. Unfortunately, Kevin thought of his blaster first and shot before Neil could speak.

"What the pfassk was that?" Neil exclaimed. Kevin's blaster was still up and sweeping over the stormtrooper that had confronted them where he lay on the ground.

Footsteps pounded through the hallways as more troopers approached in response to the ruckus. Neil threw his hands up and grabbed the two blasters he had on his hips.

"Oh dosh it!" Neil yelled. "New plan--shoot our way out!"

Neil had to be careful not to reveal himself in front of Kevin. He didn't want Andrew to know how much of the fake story he'd had him feed the general was actually the truth. So he limited his use of the Force to aim and subtle deflection as they stormed through a firestorm of troopers.

Neil and Kevin reached the hangar tailed by a flurry of blaster fire. The freighter was still docked in the hangar and Kevin whooped when he saw it. Neil spotted general what's-his-name as they made a wild dash for their escape. His face was flushed red and his mouth hung open in vexation. Too late he made the connection between the escapees and their trajectory towards the freighter.

"Stop them!" The general ordered in a futile shriek.

The helmet was no longer helpful to Neil and it was starting to feel stifling as he panted heavily. The ventilation was terrible. He tore it off and ditched it with a hard toss at the head of one of the troopers chasing them. Kevin followed suit a second later.

They were almost at the freighter when a powerful force froze them in their tracks. Neil's stomach stomach plummeted through the floor of the ship and into the deep cold of space below. _No_.

"General Kellarov," a glacial voice addressed the now-deflated and heavily sweating man, "I see your men are still incapable of the simplest of tasks."

"Inquisitor," The general stammered, "My deepest apologies."

"We'll discuss later what we can do to improve their efficiency. Or trim the fat, so to say," The Inquisitor said. It sounded more like a threat.

Neil glanced at Kevin whose face had gone ghostly white. His lips were moving silently like he was reciting a desperate prayer under his breath. When they were lifted into the air and twisted around to face their new opponent, Kevin's lips squeezed tight and tears gathered and spilled over his cheeks.

"Senator," The Inquisitor chided. He was a diminutive man in everything but the vicious demeanor he wielded around himself. The jet black of his hair matched that of a black hole where no light could escape.

"Riko," Kevin breathed.

"The disrespect you show me." The Inquisitor forced Kevin to the floor until he was doubled over on his knees. "I am an agent of the Inquisitorius and you will address me as Inquisitor, or I will have to remind you, again, of your manners."

"Yes, Inquisitor," Kevin whimpered. Neil saw his left hand squeeze tight until a brutal pattern of scars across it turned white.

Neil did not recognize this young Inquisitor who ignored him in favor of tormenting Kevin but he could sense his power. It was nothing compared to his father's. He closed his eyes and felt the Force around him. Heat seeped from his body as the cold became a physical substance in his chest.

Neil could sense Andrew and Aaron running down the gangplank to fight the Inquisitor. He felt their pulses, their breaths, the rasp of their fingers over the triggers of their blasters. He could feel this in every living body in the room. The ship.

"Enough," Neil's voice said from far away.

"Oh? And who's your friend, Kevin? Someone who actually came here to die for _you_? I think he might need to spend some time with me to learn his place."

"No," Kevin sobbed.

Neil had heard enough from this childish creature. He peeled the Inquisitor's influence through the Force off of them like the rind of a ripe meiloorun fruit. The Inquisitor reacted as if he'd broken his fingers, recoiling sharply and crying out.

"Go," Neil commanded Kevin. He spoke to Andrew and Aaron, too. His eyes never left his opponent. Kevin was drawing in huge gasps of breath like he'd only just now learned how to breathe. 

When the others didn't move, Neil swept a hand back and forced them to. The three of them flew backwards into the ship with a crash.

"I don't break my deals, Neil!" Andrew yelled. Neil understood that he meant he wouldn't leave him here to die.

"I'll find my way out of here," Neil vowed, "We'll rendezvous outside the Destroyer--just go!"

A long minute later, the gangplank of the freighter lifted and sealed shut. General Kellarov was shouting at his men to stop the ship but it was too late. The hangar bay doors closed up behind the butt of the ship as it shot into space.

Inquisitor Riko had recovered from Neil's attack earlier and was now presenting him a murderous look. He pulled a double-ended saber from the holster on his back and ignited it. Neil knew this weapon. It was not just a lethal tool wielded in pursuit of surviving Jedi, but a symbol of the Inquisitorius: two lightsaber blades set into a wheel that took years to master to its full potential. Riko spun it in a flash of red light.

"What are you?" Riko snarled as he approached Neil slowly.  
  
Neil knew Riko could sense the Dark Side in him. That it followed his whim as easily as water flowing through a river. Neil smiled a terrible smile. It was the face of darkness he wore. It thrived in destruction and the cold call of death.

" _Ja'ak_ ," Neil proclaimed in the Old Tongue. _I am free_.

Riko's eyes widened when he understood. A malicious challenge stole across his face until it twisted into something inhumane. The red light of his saber reminded Neil of his father's tower on Mustafar.

" _No_ ," Riko responded in the same language, " _You are dead_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! If you find any inconsistencies with either universe please let me know and I'll try to fix them! 
> 
> I love all the feedback you guys are giving me, and I really appreciate it. Thank you so much!
> 
> There'll be at least one more chapter update today in honor of May the Fourth so look out for it!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riko and Neil face off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been such a lovely day! Thank you all so much for your comments (I'll catch up on responding to them when the day is through) and keeping up with these updates! I'm still writing but I'm not sure how much I'll get done before the actual day ends so we'll see if I squeeze in one more chapter for May the Fourth.
> 
> If I don't finish it in time, thank you all for celebrating this awesome day with me! 
> 
> May the Force be with you!

The battle was unlike anything General Kellarov had ever witnessed before. To call it a fight would be like comparing the lit head of a match to the inferno of a sun. It was a brutal dance, each blow as powerful as it was deliberate. The two beings before him maneuvered like spiders on a web stalking each other as the delicate threads warned them where the other would move next.

The Inquisitor was a terrifying man. The general could barely stand under the pressure of his mere presence when in the same room. Once, on the devastated battlefield of a recently suppressed rebel-aligned planet, Kellarov had seen the Inquisitor smile as he lined up the survivors and executed them one by one. It was not a pleasant smile. It still haunted Kellarov, and he blamed the growing ulcer in his gut on the fear that he would one day be on its receiving end.

The Inquisitor's opponent, the escaped prisoner he had believed to be the key to his next rise in rank, also smiled as they fought. But it was not garish in ornate violence as the Inquisitor's was. To Kellarov it was cessation, a desolate gash sliced across his face. There was no living thing that could smile like that. This creature before him had crawled out from some black realm and disguised himself in the plain skin of a man.

_Demon_ , Kellarov thought. Those mythical creatures that brought ruination in their wake. He could feel it in the air. Some unwieldy shade oppressing both him and his mortal soldiers watching in awe and unable to intervene. Kellarov could not think of a single order to give. He didn't dare to even move.  
  
The Inquisitor swung his weapon in a wide arc, its red blades flashing as the prisoner flipped lithely out of its path. The prisoner, who had no lightsaber of his own, returned the swing with a succession of shots from his dual blasters. The blasts were dodged with ease and the Inquisitor launched his saber with a fiendish snarl. It whipped at its target who ducked and took a wild shot in retaliation.  
  
The lightsaber spun back to its owner and there was an intolerably strained moment as the adversaries gauged their next move. Sweat trickled down Kellarov's temple but he didn't wipe it away. He didn't blink. He didn't breathe.  
  
Kellarov speculated what this battle might have looked like had Inquisitor Jean been present at his partner's side instead of leading his fleet to quell a tricky rebel cell on Lothal. He could not imagine the hangar containing three such warriors.   
  
The Inquisitor broke the standstill to lunge at the prisoner who forewent evasion and instead expertly swept in to grapple for possession of the Inquisitor's weapon. They whirled through a lightning-fast series of holds, blows and counter-blows, and shifting footwork that looped them around the hangar. Troopers lifted their weapons as they neared, but they could not get a clear shot in before the pair had moved again.  
  
Kellarov could analyze their stances, take them apart down to the positioning of each body part, but he would never be able to pull it off with the same efficacy. His experience in the military meant many things, and he had thought his accomplishments noteworthy, but they amounted to less than dirt in a battle such as this. There was nothing in his power that would put him even one hundred leagues below these beasts.  
  
The prisoner finally got the advantage as he gripped one of the Inquisitor's wrists and jerked it. The lightsaber was disarmed and with another tug, it skittered to the floor. The clatter of the impact woke the general from his half-daze and he stepped toward the combatants to help.  
  
"Inquisitor--" Kellarov started. He could not say anything else. His throat had closed up suddenly like it was being crushed in the grip of a rancor maw.  
  
"Quiet," The Inquisitor spat. His fist squeezed tighter where it hung in the air between himself and Kellarov, and Kellarov's vision blacked out. He thought he felt death creeping up under his skin when the pressure let up and air was rushing into his lungs with painful relief.  
  
"No interruptions," The Inquisitor commanded, his eyes gleaming with madness, "Or I will kill you."  
  
Kellarov collapsed to his knees, tears and snot leaking down his chin. He was gasping uncontrollably. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his men moving to aid him and he put out a weak hand to stop them. He would get up on his own. His body shook as he stood, but he suffered it for the sake of his dignity.  
  
The Inquisitor hissed something at his enemy that Kellarov could not make sense of, but he recognized it as the language of the Sith--the Emperor himself. The prisoner replied coldly, dismissively. He spun the blasters around his fingers as if they were toys and he was amusing a child.  
  
The general expected the Inquisitor to react to the insult with bloodshed, but instead the man simply stood and stared down his opponent with heat like he was splitting particles with his eyes. The pressure that accompanied the Inquisitor everywhere he went seemed to bear down on Kellarov tenfold. Light itself appeared to weaken under its influence.   
  
The prisoner was unaffected. He laughed humorlessly and aimed the blaster in his right hand at the Inquisitor.  
  
"You are nothing," he said, "Your power is nothing."  
  
The next few seconds were incomprehensible to Kellarov. It felt like time had warped and his mind had not come out of it right. One moment, he was watching the prisoner raise his arm to shoot--he could swear the creature had his eyes completely closed--and the next, the Inquisitor was on the ground screaming in agony and the hangar had exploded with a concussive boom.  
  
What Kellarov had missed in that moment was that the prisoner had actually taken two shots. One at the Inquisitor, who had been rendered immobile in their duel with the Force. And one at a nearby TIE whose pilot had been distracted while refueling.  
  
Sound had muted to a whining ringing. Kellarov was numb--he wasn't sure if he even had a body anymore. Smoke clogged the air and alarms were howling behind the fog in his ears. He saw the blurry shape of a TIE launching from the hangar and the dizzying furor of white armor as stormtroopers raced around the bay to contain the fire.

The Inquisitor was screaming orders indistinguishable to Kellarov. The muffled sound of his anger reminded Kellarov of his father yelling at his mother through the walls of their home back on Coruscant. It brought out the same primal fear in Kellarov that he'd felt back then.  
  
The pain came all at once. It was so much that the general could not form thought to speak. He cried out wordlessly instead. His hands were slippery as they clung to his head. It was shredding itself apart, he thought.  
  
"General," A voice addressed him from above. It was thick with rage. It cut through his pain like blaster fire in a desert night.  
  
The Inquisitor stood above him covered in soot and blood. Kellarov had never seen the man bleed before. He was mesmerized by a drop that had splattered onto the floor by his knee. It was dark red, like his own.  
  
"General," the Inquisitor repeated. He had his lightsaber in hand again. It burned Kellarov's eyes as they rose to its light, but he could not look away. He knew that if he did, he would find that the Inquisitor was smiling at him.  
  
"Time to trim the fat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I hope that you enjoyed this series of updates, and continue to enjoy the rest of this work!


	6. EXTRA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you think I'd forgotten about Revenge of the Fifth? In the spirit of the day, I decided to take things closer to the Dark Side. This is a mini extra chapter, so if you're more interested in the main story line, you can skip ahead! I piggy-backed this update with the next chapter, so you'll still be getting more of the story!
> 
> Hope you all had a good Star Wars day (and if not yesterday, then maybe you're more Dark Side inclined and today was better)! Thank you for reading this story and sticking around :D And double thank you for your comments! I'm so glad you guys had some fun with yesterday's series of updates ^_^ (I'll be responding to your comments asap!)
> 
> May you all let out your inner Sith today and deal in every absolute available to you.

Darth Asmenys watched the diminutive moisture farm unravel into ash in the sky. His mind was usually like that ash, drifting through the wider expanse of the universe. He existed on a different stratum than the ignorant, feeble-bodied creatures that populated the galaxy. But Tatooine had a way of pinning him back to the memory of that small slave boy, Nathan, he'd discarded to become who he was now. What he was now.  
  
Sand blew up in the pathetic breeze that flitted around Asmenys. It pervaded everything within Tatooine's atmosphere. It was the very air itself. Asmenys remembered the way that sand used to grit against his skin where it slid under his clothes. The burn of it against his palms.  
  
Strange, how his only son, his blood, his heir, had ended up on this same planet that once held Asmenys prisoner to its wastelands. That was all Mary. Foolish, cowardly woman. She could not handle the true power of the Force so she had run from it.  
  
He could still see the light dying in her eyes. Her lips parted as she said their son's name and a single command. _Run_.  
  
For all her cowardice, Mary had been the only person in the galaxy to bring Asmenys so low. She was a mirage, a trick, a trap. She'd betrayed him once and slipped from his grasp every time he caught her to exact his vengeance. It was the method of the weak to resort to that sort of treachery. She'd fled from one rock on the outer rim to the other before finally hitting the end of her line here.   
  
The Force had been strong with her once, and she had remembered it before Darth Asmenys swept the blade of his light saber through her gut. There was no fear in her when she realized she would die. In that moment, she was one with the Force, and there is no place for fear in the Force.  
  
She'd grabbed his arm and trapped him in place, pulling him through the Force. The same hand that had once trailed the bare skin of his neck. Now, it was rough from life on Tatooine. This planet had a way of wearing you down. It had worn Nathan's mother until she was part of it. Dead at the hands of Raiders.  
  
That particular memory was a doorway to the Path of the Dark Side for the boy named Nathan. He remembered the junk dealer who'd owned Nathan and his mother when they'd been slaves. Asmenys recalled the stink of his breath as he ordered them to work hours and hours without reprieve.  The fool had gambled both Nathan and his mother away, but Nathan had been handed over to a pair of Jedi Knights, and his mother to a moisture farmer years later.  
  
Nathan had been led astray for so long by the Jedi. While he was learning the impotent principles of their ways, his mother had been captured by Tusken Raiders and was starved and beaten to death. Nathan had not been there to stop them. For all the limitless potential in the Force, Nathan could not touch even a drop of it as he trained to be a Jedi Knight. And he couldn't prevent his mother's death.  
  
It was the Emperor who opened Nathan's eyes to the true power he had at his fingertips.   
  
The paltry tricks the Jedi boasted paled when compared to the lethal artistry of the Dark Side. Nathan learned to do things he'd always been told were impossible. He could tear the breath from a man's lungs from millions of parsecs away. He could dip his thoughts into the minds of others and twist until they were puppets to his will.  
  
Nathan's return to Tatooine following his mother's death had been a large step toward his liberation. He turned every single Raider in the clan that had held his mother captive into smoking heaps of dead flesh. He'd burned them to nothing and sown the ashes of their children into the sand.  
  
It was a similar view Darth Asmenys observed now. The ruddiness of the sky was the same, as were the fire and smoke. His traitorous wife was diminishing into soot. His son was only a desert away, following in her path.   
  
That boy, the power he could wield was unimaginable. Asmenys had felt it when they clashed, briefly, before Mary's interference. If his son could be returned to his side, the two of them would be an unyielding strength in the galaxy. Mary's sacrifice, all her escapes, they amounted to nothing compared to the lure of the Dark Side.

There was a distant pain in Asmenys' side where his son had managed to wound him. Asmenys pressed a hand there and was faintly aware of the burn of a glancing blow from a lightsaber. The boy was still too frightened to give himself over fully to the Darkness. Asmenys would need to purge him of that fear.

Darth Asmenys picked his mind off of Tatooine like shaking a fly from his hand. The suns were setting like they had every day that Nathan had lived on this forsaken planet. To that naive child, dusk had meant relief from the aching in his hands with the end of the day's labor. To Asmenys it only meant the beginning of his work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little side story! I definitely took a lot of influence from Anakin's story line since not much is known about Nathan's background. It was interesting to try and write out more of his character when he is mostly described as this infallible being in the books through Neil's eyes. 
> 
> Now, without further ado, back to our regularly scheduled Star Wars AU!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to the main story line! 
> 
> Warning: This chapter simulates the effects of drug use/loss of mental control (this aligns mostly with the canon description of Andrew's medication and his medically-induced mania, but in further detail).

Nicky's hands darted over Eden's controls as he whisked them recklessly through a field of attacking TIE-fighters. Sweat beaded across his forehead, and he was uncharacteristically silent as they narrowly dodged fire. Andrew watched it all and laughed.

 _All Terrain Armored Transport series DX-011T. 22.5 m tall. Pressurized cockpit for use in varied atmospheres. Armored plating capable of withstanding heavy blaster fire and impact equivalent to 4 proton torpedoes. Weaknesses_ \--"ndrew, Andrew!" Nicky was shouting. Andrew tuned back in to the clamor in thecockpit and turned to Nicky with a tilt of his head like he'd been listening the entire time. The implant split his mind in several ways sometimes.

"I think we're going to need two guns for cover," Nicky said urgently. He only showed his spine, at least regarding Andrew, when he was too busy outrunning the ships of people they'd pissed off to be smart enough to think better of it. Lately, those ships tended to belong to the Empire.

The reason for their recent ongoing flirtation with the Empire was shivering in the passenger cabin. He was probably still muttering the phrase, "He's going to kill him," over and over. Andrew understood enough about Kevin's relationship with Riko to leave the panicking man to his fear for now. He would come to collect the pieces later.

Their rear shield took a shuddering hit as one of the TIE's lined them up in its sights. Nicky shot Andrew a pleading look before whipping them away from enemy fire. Andrew let the lean of the ship push him to the side and watched the stars outside the windshield swirl. He was laughing again.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Nicky," Andrew forced out breathlessly. It was tiring sometimes, getting flung through these moods like he was caught in a riptide and then held under. But the people who'd programmed his implant had been ordered to make him happy, no matter his circumstances, so here he was.

Aaron was on the ventral canon so Andrew trotted up to the dorsal. He threw himself into the seat and gripped the trigger and control stick with jittery hands. His knee bobbed as he targeted an incoming TIE and shot.

It would have been easier for them if they could shake these TIE's and make a jump to one of their refuges, but they were still waiting for their recent tag-along to meet them out here. Occasionally, Andrew caught a glimpse of the Imperial Star Destroyer that held Neil captive as they swooped around it.

Smuggling was not an honorable trade by anyone's standards, but that didn't mean the people in Andrew's line of work didn't respect his policy to never back out of a deal. Andrew didn't care about their opinions, or his reputation, but he did have an unshakable doctrine writ within himself to honor every deal he made. Too many people had broken too many promises in his past and he refused to be anything at all like them.

Andrew was just appreciating the light show an exploding TIE-fighter made when he saw one of the other TIE's go rogue and start shooting at the ships around it. The traitorous fighter wove through the others, avoiding fire and impact by the barest breath each time.

"It's Neil!" Nicky yelled over the comm. "He's hailing us. I'm moving in to intercept, be ready!"

Andrew and Aaron laid down a furious barrage of shots to clear their way as they plummeted into the heart of the remaining TIE squadron. Nicky was an uncivilized bastard behind the controls, which made him the only pilot Andrew could trust to fly them out of any hairy fray. He demonstrated maneuvers no Academy-trained pilot would ever risk to get closer to Neil's TIE.

"Steady for impact," Nicky warned.

The ship shook with a bump as Eden's Twilight locked onto the TIE piloted by Neil. Andrew's heart leapt uncomfortably into his throat as he kept up cover fire and both of his knees were now jumping up and down as he bounced his heels off the floor. Adrenaline made an unpleasant cocktail with the biocybernetics of his implant.

"He's clear. Getting the pfassk out of here now," Nicky informed them.

Less than a minute later they made the jump and the stars stretched into lines of light as they entered hyperspace. Andrew's whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Laughter regurgitated from him painfully. This was why Andrew hardly ever manned the guns. That, and he had a tendency to get too distracted to be reliable cover.

Aketi VI loomed in front of him through the transparent canopy of the gunner bay. It was as gray and unremarkable as they'd left it earlier. Andrew did not look forward to sitting through another meeting with Hondo, but he did owe the man for his information, and Aketi VI was as good a backwater planet as any for them to lay low on for a few days.

When Andrew's mania had subsided to a minor twitch, he left for the passenger compartment to check on Kevin. As expected, Kevin had ridden out his panic poorly, and stewed in its tail end with his hands clenched tightly in his hair. He clawed out unsteady breaths frantically.  
  
"You're going to tear something if you keep that up," Andrew taunted him. It would have been amusing to watch Kevin shake himself to pieces, but Andrew had a promise to keep and it involved Kevin remaining whole.  
  
The corners of Andrew's mouth loosened just slightly from their constant tug upwards. It was a relief he never anticipated until it came, like shaking off the flu.  
  
"Stop," Andrew commanded. The downbeat in his tone was enough to make Kevin look up at him.  
  
"The idiot is alive," Andrew told him.  
  
"Impossible," Kevin whimpered. Andrew gave him a pitying look. Kevin had been so trapped in the spiral of his thoughts that he hadn't heard Nicky's shouting.  
  
"He's alive," Andrew emphasized, "And you're with me."  
  
Kevin lowered his hands and looked at Andrew with open desperation.   
  
"He got me," Kevin whispered. Andrew's mouth actually fell flat. Something cut through the implant's effect and warped darkly in his chest.  
  
"I brought you back," Andrew reminded him, "He'll never get you again."  
  
Andrew had a plan for that already. He remembered the shock of Neil facing Riko undaunted and holding his ground. The swooping in Andrew's gut as he was thrown backwards by an invisible blow. It was time to make another deal.  
  
"You can't know that," Kevin said, "If he got me once, he can get me again. And he'll torture me again. He'll make me see things. He'll--"  
  
Whatever thought that invoked made Kevin gag and Andrew had to push a hand down over Kevin's back so his head was between his knees. Kevin took a few steadying breaths and Andrew kept him there until he seemed calmer. He pulled his hand back and directed Kevin's face toward him with a finger under his chin.  
  
"I've got it handled," Andrew stated slowly, "You worry about how we'll get to Wymack without the Rebels shooting us down, and I'll worry about keeping you away from Riko."  
  
"How?" Kevin asked. He pulled his bottom lip in and chewed it anxiously. "He's too strong. You can't stop him."  
  
"He is weak," Andrew corrected, "And I know his weakness. He will be stopped if he comes for you again."  
  
When Kevin still didn't look entirely convinced, Andrew gripped him by his neck and pressed a thumb over his pulse.   
  
"We made a deal," Andrew said simply, "I will not break it."  
  
He felt Kevin's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed before nodding. The hopeless look faded into calm in his eyes. Andrew dropped his hand.

Nicky landed Eden's Twilight with the same ham-handed roughness he always did. The ship clattered in complaint but held together. Aaron crawled out from the ventral gunner at the same time Nicky came to join them in the passenger bay. They were looking at Andrew as if waiting for his orders.  
  
Well-trained, Andrew mused. He killed a bubble of laughter in his throat.  
  
"We deal with our guest and then Hondo," Andrew told them. The mania was starting to climb back up his chest and swell in his head. He swallowed several times.  
  
"Who is that guy?" Nicky asked in a rush. He'd obviously been sitting on that. "Did you see him in the hangar? He, like, moved you guys? Somehow? What was that? That was him, right?"  
  
"Breathe, Nicky," Aaron advised with a raised eyebrow. Kevin was staring at Nicky like he'd realized something important from that mess of words.  
  
"Why don't we go get our strange friend and ask him ourselves?" Andrew offered. He remembered the TIE attached to them and the tracker it was probably carrying.  
  
"Let's go," Andrew ordered.   
  
The man who called himself Neil was already waiting outside when they went out to meet him. He looked weary and he hunched over with his arms tight to his chest like he was cold. Otherwise, he appeared to have come out of his fight with Riko unharmed. Dusty wind shuffled around them and Neil coughed on it.  
  
Neil was an interesting creature. Andrew blamed it on the implant, which snagged his attention on distracting things without Andrew's permission. There was nothing astoundingly significant about the short, skinny man in front of him. He had a pretty face, Andrew admitted, the kind that anyone could appreciate. He lied with every breath he took, but Andrew had been living among liars his entire life.  
  
Ordinarily, Andrew would dismiss the interest to the back of his mind with the rest of the useless clutter the implant barraged him with. The stunt on the Destroyer had been enough reason for Andrew to hold onto it instead. Andrew only entertained interest in useful things and Neil had proven his use by ensuring Kevin's safe escape from Riko.  
  
  
Not for the first time, Andrew felt something dark coiling around Neil as they got closer. It was an energy that drew Andrew's mind down slightly from its cybernetically-induced high. That was another thing. Andrew had never met a being who made the air physically heavy where they walked. Andrew simultaneously felt compelled to lean closer, and recoil away.  
  
"You're alive!" Andrew greeted Neil, "Kevin was already preparing your eulogy."  
  
Neil gave Andrew a silent, unimpressed look in response.  
  
"We need to ditch your shiny new ship," Andrew said. The Empire might already be breathing down their necks. Hondo might need to wait. Pity.  
  
Neil waved a dismissive hand and replied, "I scrapped the tracker before we made the jump. There's no way they followed us here."  
  
So the runaway knew his way around a TIE. Another peculiarity to note.  
  
"You," Kevin interrupted, "You're not an Inquisitor." It bordered between being a statement and a question.  
  
_Ah,_ Andrew thought, losing track of where his mind had wandered. Neil's brow furrowed in disgust.  _Ah._  
  
"I'm not," Neil spat.   
  
"You can use the Force. Like Riko," Kevin pushed. His mouth flinched at the name.  
  
Neil gave a sardonic laugh. "Him? No, we're nothing alike."  
  
"Then what are you? Are you," Kevin paused. Awe dawned on his face.   
  
" _Jedi,_ " Kevin breathed.  
  
Neil's expression chilled and the unnatural heaviness that surrounded him thickened.   
  
"The Jedi are dead," Neil declared coldly. "I'm no Jedi, and I never was."  
  
The awe fell from Kevin's face like a squished Mynock sliding off of a windshield. Kevin and his stupid obsession with dead religions and conspiracy theories. He drew in a deep breath like he was about to launch into  _another_ lecture on ancient history so Andrew cut him off.  
  
"Jedi, Inquisitor, Tauntaun, or the Maker themselves, I don't care. You  _can_ fight Riko, beat him even," Andrew said.   
  
Neil sealed his lips stubbornly and held his arms tighter to his body. He looked like he would clam up for good so Andrew spoke before receiving an answer. He was impatient, and he could feel himself buzzing under his skin again.  
  
"You need to keep running," Andrew reminded Neil, "And we have a ship to keep you moving. If you do something for us in return, we'll get you from one end of the galaxy to the other and back. However long it takes."  
  
Neil's eyes narrowed. He cocked his head like he was testing the balance of a thought.  
  
"And, the rest of your payment will be null, of course," Andrew added to sweeten the pot.  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Neil asked warily. Andrew let the grin fighting against his face break open viciously.  
  
"Make a deal with me."  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I'll probably update again before too long, but until then all of you have a lovely weekend!
> 
> Also, for future reference, if you have any trigger warnings you want me to be mindful of and post before chapters that might contain them please let me know! I can start doing a tldr, too, if requested. I know aftg hits some pretty hard stuff. I'm in the process of making a tumblr so I can see more aftg fan content, and I'll link to it when I'm done setting it up so you guys can message me privately for stuff like this.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone but Kevin vandalizing their ships.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> I do have a tumblr now at ssundaye.tumblr.com but I've only just barely made it & I'm still working it out. I think I might post snippets and shorter pieces on there if anyone would be interested (but my main priority is working on the two stories I have on ao3). Please do add me so I can add you all back and interact with y'all more.
> 
> Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

They were stuck on this planet for at least a few days, Neil guessed. It was a familiar routine of laying low and waiting out the Imperial attention they'd contracted from Kevin's rescue. The muted buzzing of some unseen insects accompanied them from within the dry grasses of the surrounding field.  
  
Neil watched Andrew and Aaron poke and prod at their ship to check it for any damage from their run in with a TIE-fighter squadron. Nicky had excitedly explained that the scrappy light freighter was named Eden's Twilight and that Andrew had stripped it almost entirely from its original specs to make room for some impressive modifications. Neil's head was still spinning from how much Nicky spoke.

Nicky was now fawning over Neil's stolen TIE for what he called "an extreme makeover," which Neil had thought meant camouflaging the conspicuous vehicle from Imperial eyes. In reality, it meant that Nicky was painting the TIE in bright colors with no discernible pattern or intention. 

Kevin and Neil sat in awkward silence and watched the others work. Neil had basic mechanic expertise but it was mostly limited to emergency repairs and disabling trackers. That was all he'd ever needed since he'd ditched more than his fair share of ships while jumping between temporary hideouts.

Neil didn't need the Force to sense Kevin's displeasure with him. The Jedi fanboy had already tried giving Neil the full sales pitch on the Jedi's fabled greatness and nobility. The redundant exchange kept ending in a very flat line and this long tone of fuming quiet. 

Kevin's dark green eyes dissected the horizon like he might find a Jedi temple there to masturbate into. Neil knew it wasn't that easy. His father had once taken him to one such temple to teach Neil how desiccated the influence of the Jedi had become.  
  
The temple entrance was hidden deep into the planet's crust and could have easily been disregarded if not for the Force. The doorway had opened for Neil and his father with ease. Neil carefully hid his awe at the spectacle of the immense structure rising from the dirt. This was holy ground--he could sense something within it that anchored the Force around it like a wellspring. 

But that awe shriveled when they entered what had become a lifeless sanctuary and witnessed the ruin within. Scorch marks marred the walls, and skeletons were strewn about in various poses of death.

  
Darth Asmenys walked through the halls like he knew them, like he owned them. A chill crawled through Neil's every cell. He had stepped inside a cadaver and felt its ghost lurking over him in accusation. Once within the inner temple, terrible visions had bombarded Neil and forced him to his knees.

Neil's father had taken him to the mind probe for that show of weakness for mental "conditioning" and "strengthening". The conditioning involved electric shocks that responded to his fear, and the strengthening, repeated iterations of the same vision he'd seen in that temple. Thousands of corpses dead at his hand, Rebel soldiers, Imperial defectors, civilians, and children alike. At the end of each session some part of Neil was dead and he put it to rest in a grave in his head where he could observe it with detachment.

More dust threatened them in the breeze and Neil held his breath for the few seconds that it swept over his face. He suspected that by the time they left this planet, Neil would be carrying half the surface away on his skin. His nose itched at the thought but he stopped himself from indulging and scratching at it. Kevin sneezed pathetically and Neil scoffed at his delicate sensibilities. Politicians.

Andrew made an inaudible comment to Aaron while they picked at the worn metal of Eden's hull. From his tone, and Aaron's irritated response, Neil knew it had been some sort of insult. 

Neil rolled his sleeves up restlessly as he recalled the deal he'd made with Andrew. It was stupidity, really, the leftover arrogance of the Darkness still slithering through his veins, that made him agree. At the time, all he'd really been thinking about was how he needed Andrew's ship to stay on the run. The Darkness had still been whispering in his ear that he was unstoppable. He could stroll through the cities of Coruscant itself and not a soul could stop him. Neil could hold his end of the deal easily (it was just pest control) and get a free ride out of it.   
  
All he had to do was protect Kevin from the hand of the Empire closing in to crush him.  
  
Coming down from that high, Neil knew what a foolish notion that was. There were many servants of the Empire who could swat him like a fly if they chose. And, in fact, they would if they got the chance. He was not enough to protect Kevin from them all. But he had to at least try. Neil didn't have a choice now that he'd already agreed to Andrew's deal. At least, he didn't want to choose the only other option and betray them for his own good. Not yet. Not until it was the only way he'd survive.

Neil glanced up and saw Andrew watching the progress Neil's sleeve made as he rolled it up. Neil stopped. Andrew had a way of looking at him that made him believe the other man was reading his every thought. It was different than the way his father would slam into his mind and then comb it apart like a vulture picking through roadkill. It was like Andrew had a tap directly into Neil's mind that opened at the touch of his eyes.

Neil was not comfortable with the inspection, and he angled himself away from Andrew's gaze. Unfortunately, the motion had him facing Kevin who took it as a sign that Neil wanted to continue their earlier conversation.

"I don't understand," Kevin restarted. Neil rolled his eyes and said nothing. How many times had he heard that in the past few hours?

"You're not part of the Inquisitorius, or the Sith, and you want nothing to do with the Jedi. They were the peacekeepers of the galaxy--they defended the weak from greater adversaries, and wielded a great power for good. How did you learn about the Force if not with them? Why do you want nothing to do with your predecessors?" 

This speech had been on repeat so many times Neil was considering just murdering Kevin and feeding him to whatever native species would take him on this planet. He closed his eyes against the urge and folded his hands together to stimulate some patience. Maybe if he gave a real answer this time Kevin would let it be.

"The Jedi are hypocrites," Neil explained, "They forced their ideals on others and killed thousands by involving them in a war half the galaxy didn't want a part in. And they paved the way for the Sith to take control and establish the Empire."

And Kevin didn't know a thing about Neil's predecessors.  If he did, he would run away in terror. Neil was sick enough with what he'd learned of the Sith. Any more and he might become another creature entirely. One he didn't think he'd like.

"The Jedi were fighting the Separatists--who were trying to invade and control every planet in the galaxy. They were fighting for freedom, for justice," Kevin argued heatedly, "You don't know anything about them."

"I know they failed," Neil said with finality, "And now we're stuck with this mess they made."

Neil couldn't take it anymore. He stood and walked over to Andrew who was now lying on the ground under Eden's alone while Aaron argued with Nicky over whether they would paint the Emperor mooning everyone or a decapitated Jabba the Hutt on the side of the TIE-fighter. The ugly blob Nicky had already painted told Neil that either way nobody would recognize whatever they decided on.

Neil crawled under the ship and sat next to Andrew with his knees to his chest. Andrew was using one of Nicky's brushes and some black paint to draw random blueprints that Neil recognized to be Imperial weaponry. 

"Interesting choice of artwork," Neil commented.

Andrew took the brush and smeared it haphazardly over the design until it was a large smudge. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," Andrew feigned, "I'm just painting whatever comes to mind. Bee told me writing your thoughts out is therapeutic."

Andrew slapped the paint soaked brush against the metal with a splat. Black flecks peppered his face. 

"Bee?" Neil inquired.

"Bee, bee, meiloorun tree," Andrew sing-songed, "Just another do-gooder whose good got her done in by the Empire. At least that's what usually happens when renegade holocast hosts disappear." 

Neil was slightly surprised that Andrew had divulged this personal information. Andrew's voice was too distant for it to be a lie. Like it was shared by accident. But nothing Andrew did was by accident. He turned his head, not caring that dust was collecting thickly in the strands of his hair, and looked at Neil. The manic grin strung up across his face by the implant had dulled to a shadow of a smile.

"That was a truth told in good faith," Andrew explained. The corners of his mouth strained to twitch up but Andrew fought them down. "So you can tell me who you really are."

Neil's expression darkened. He would never tell anyone the truth of who he really was. He couldn't. Especially not some smuggler who could sell him out to the Empire any moment for a decent chunk of credits.

"You know who I am," Neil lied.

Andrew clicked his tongue, chiding.

"Don't insult me with your pretending. We already established you've been lying to me since the moment we met. If I'm trusting you with my things I need to know something real." Andrew looked past Neil to Kevin's stewing figure. The expression in his eyes was unreadable.

Neil inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"The price for that truth is far too high for you to afford."

"We'll see." Andrew was now detailing some sort of droid specs on the ship. "Something else, then."  
  
Neil's heart was skittering around in his chest like it could rip free of the arteries leashing it to him and run away. The thought of telling Andrew anything real about himself had him sweating and dizzy with fear. He wouldn't.  
  
"The first family I was given to lived on Coruscant. I was straight off the assembly line," Andrew joked, "and they liked their servants young and healthy."  
  
The dizzy spiral in Neil's head curled down around Andrew's words like they were the only existence in the galaxy. Andrew's eyes had emptied out again, and he was smiling so hard it had to have hurt.  
  
"I wasn't happy enough," Andrew continued, "It made them 'uncomfortable.' I was sent back for revision."  
  
Andrew scrubbed the brush over the droid specs and they became a sloppy blossom of black.   
  
"Your turn," he said. Neil swallowed. He stared at the mess of paint above him, then the constellation of paint spatter across Andrew's face.  
  
"I was raised by an officer in the Empire," Neil started. It was partially true.  
  
"My father, he messed up, and," Neil swallowed again, trying not to throw up, "they killed him. They came for my mother and me, too. That's how they do it in the Empire. Cauterize every leaking wound. Burn out the loose ends. I watched them kill my mother from where she hid me. The last thing she told me was, 'Run.' So I did."  
  
Neil took the brush from Andrew, and the other man let him. He painted the hull above them aimlessly in long, loping strokes.   
  
"I'm still a loose end. And I'd accidentally stolen one of my father's datacards full of Imperial secrets in the sack of credits I took with me when I ran. They think I know too much--that I'll sell it to the wrong people. I don't even have the card anymore."  
  
Neil could feel his father's smile spreading over his face. Him and Andrew were mirrors. He could feel that vacuum behind Andrew's eyes in his own mind. He felt like he could collapse in on himself at any moment. Neil pressed the side of his hand into the smile to break that thought.  
  
"How did you fight Riko?" Andrew asked, "What are you?"   
  
It was the same question Riko had asked him on his Star Destroyer. It was the same one Kevin had been asking over and over since their escape. From Andrew, it wasn't a stamp to label Neil on one side or the other. It was barely even curiosity.   
  
"I'm nothing," Neil replied, "I'll always have and be nothing."  
  
It wasn't an explanation for the things he was capable of doing, but it broke Neil open down to his core. He pressed his hand to his mouth even harder. Sobs inflated in his chest but he refused to give them a voice and cry.  
  
Andrew peeled Neil's hand away from his mouth and stared at him for a long, long moment. His smile had unbelievably ironed out to blankness. Neil couldn't look away from that void in his eyes.   
  
This was Neil offering up his awful truths. The first time he'd ever said them aloud, and they were just as ugly in the open air as they were in his head.   
  
Andrew didn't say anything more. He took the brush back from Neil and went back to defacing his own ship.   
  
The silent acceptance of what Neil had said was an almost painful relief. That Neil could unload even a revised version of the truth and Andrew could take it without reaction was staggering. Neil knew in his gut that while almost anyone else would at least consider selling Neil, a stranger, out for a pretty bounty, Andrew would not.  
  
Neil lay back on the ground with a puff of dust that he ignored. He watched Andrew paint Imperial designs and destroy them on his mutt of a freighter while they waited for the day to close. It was not an unpleasant way to spend the time, and that was a first for Neil in a very long time.  
  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be pretty busy this week, so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update, but since these chapters are short, hopefully not before too long.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and please comment with any feedback you have!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew's crew makes its way to Yavin IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a little while! I've had a pretty busy week and only had time to write today. I've got another update under way, so it'll come out soon as well. 
> 
> I realize the timeline here is pretty different from Star Wars, and this is probably where the plot starts to diverge a little.

"We need to move," Kevin said for the hundredth time that morning. His eyes were rimmed red from lack of sleep and he was pacing the floor of Eden's Twilight like he was determined to wear a rut in the metal.  
  
It had almost been a week since they'd landed on what Neil now knew was the planet Aketi VI and Kevin looked much worse for wear with cabin fever. Neil, used to long waits in worse conditions, was as calm as he'd been since painting the belly of Eden's with Andrew their first day on Aketi VI. The ship's air was admittedly starting to get a little stale from lack of fresh air, but that was nothing compared to the garbage compactor Neil and his mother had once inadvertently fled into.  
  
Neil ignored Kevin again as he considered his next move in his game of Dejarik with Nicky. A tiny model of a Monnok shuffled restlessly on the holoboard as if irritated by the wait.   
  
"They could relocate their base at any moment. The Empire could find them. We'll never get there in time," Kevin worried.  
  
Andrew was picking dirt from under his fingernails with one of his many knives (Neil had counted seven in his collection so far), disregarding the anxiety buzzing around Kevin. Occasionally, Neil caught Andrew's lips twitching up and down like a light flickering. He wondered if it was Kevin's mood making him fidget, or if he was trying to fight the effects of the implant and failing.  
  
"Relax, Kevin," Nicky advised, "We're waiting on Hondo to give us the all-clear and then we can leave. I'm sure the Rebellion will still be on whatever backside of whatever moon when we get there."  
  
Neil's heart jumped at the sound of the word, "Rebellion," as it always did, and he calmed it. He'd already made grudging peace with having to associate with Rebels in the far too near future. It wasn't like he was signing up to enlist. It was part of his deal. And knowing where the Rebels stationed their base might be useful for Neil in the future. If he did them this favor, he might be able to cash in if he got stuck in a sticky spot. It was better than running to anyone affiliated with the Empire, that was for sure.  
  
"We can't know that!" Kevin snapped back at Nicky. He swiped a hand through his hair in frustration. "We've waited long enough. If we stay here, word might get out. They might find us."  
  
Kevin froze in his tracks, his eyes wide like he'd just had a horrible realization. He staggered and pressed a hand to his chest dramatically. Neil gave in and moved the Monnok across the holoboard.   
  
" _He_ might find us," Kevin repeated, "We need to move."  
  
The door to the ship opened with a hiss and Kevin jumped as if he'd been electrocuted. Neil already knew it was Aaron returning from his trip to the dingy bar they'd visited before. He watched Nicky think over his next move.   
  
"News?" Andrew asked as Aaron joined them in the passenger bay.   
  
Aaron wiped some of Aketi IV's dust from one shoulder and surveyed the crew of Eden's with boredom. He had the loose countenance of someone who might have had a few drinks in some dive. Which he probably had.  
  
"Imperial attention is focused on something going down on Lothal," Aaron informed them, "Our friend with the Destroyer has been ordered to join the fleet there. We can probably move later today. Or so Hondo says."  
  
Aaron shrugged to let them know he understood exactly what Hondo's word was worth and flopped down next to Nicky on his bench. Nicky whooped as his Ghhhk wiped out Neil's Monnok on the holoboard. Neil reeled in a disappointed curse.   
  
Andrew tossed his knife in the air and caught it expertly before letting his grin overcome his face yet again. This time it stuck.  
  
"Looks like we're going to go track down the Rebellion. Kevin, the datacard," Andrew said. His knife had disappeared into thin air by some sort of trick and his empty palm sat facing Kevin in demand.  
  
Kevin leaned down and picked through the lining of one of his boots until he procured the requested card. Neil was disappointed in the Empire for not catching that during Kevin's incarceration in their ship. But the Inquisitor in charge of that Destroyer had seemed particularly incompetent. Incompetent people with power were the easiest to fool.

  
"The coordinates should be on this. The location of their last known base," Kevin pointed out.  
  
"Perfect. Good boy," Andrew mocked. He grabbed Nicky by the scruff of his vest (Neil didn't understand the functionality of a vest, but Nicky insisted on wearing it) and dragged him to the cockpit. Neil followed them, curious to see where exactly the Rebellion had stashed its entire base.

Andrew's fingers flitted over the buttons of Eden's controls like a wind was blowing through them. Neil could tell by the way Andrew bounced his knee that it had more to do with excess energy than urgency. A holomap of an unrecognizable moon lit Andrew's face blue as he pulled it up.

"Yavin IV," Nicky read aloud, "Fourth moon of the gas giant, Yavin."

Andrew closed the map and left the pilot's seat for Nicky who slid into it smoothly. He pulled the seatbelt across his chest and started flipping switches to wake Eden's up. Aaron ambled in to take the copilot's seat and helped Nicky prepare for take off.

Kevin joined them and leaned over Nicky to stare at nothing through the windshield. He was breathing heavily and Neil found that there was one too many bodies occupying the cockpit. He excused himself for the passenger cabin and some breathing room.

The Rebellion. If Neil believed the stories he'd heard from other parents (high ranking officers) in the Empire, the Rebels were spooks terrorizing the Empire and trying to tear apart the peace it had established throughout the galaxy. _If you don't finish your dinner, the Rebels will hide under your bed and steal you away in your sleep. If you don't sit quietly while company is over, we'll send you to the Rebels so they can make you eat grubs and stand in for their target practice._

Neil's mother didn't care for the Empire or the Rebellion. She preferred to slip through the crack they'd rent through the galaxy and hide there. Her family had allied themselves to the Empire in an attempt to protect themselves from its wrath, but they were snakes always waiting for the next chance to better their position. Mary herself had been a Jedi Knight once, but defected with Neil's father when she found out about Order 66--the destruction of the entire Jedi Order. Mary had always cared more for surviving than archaic religious practices.

Eden's Twilight jerked to let Neil know Nicky was lifting off of Aketi VI with his usual roughness. Neil watched the Dejarik pieces flicker on the holoboard in the passenger bay. He could see the next five steps he'd need to take to beat Nicky. He went instead to the dorsal gunner to watch their journey and secured himself in his seat.

It took no time to make the jump to Yavin IV. The planet Yavin was a giant red welt marring the black view of space. It had an expansive system of moons, one of which housed the Rebellion's headquarters--the last hope standing between the Empire and total control of the galaxy. Hope was such a thin thing. Neil wasn't a gambling man, but if he were, he still wouldn't place his bet on the Rebellion.

Nicky maneuvered through the diverse moons more carefully than he usually might have. Neil knew it was a little tricky flying through this complex field of gravity woven through the different moons' orbits, and that was without threat of Rebel ships mistaking them as an enemy infiltrator during their patrols. Neil appreciated the consideration for his stomach as they moved smoothly through the system.

The blue moon Yavin IV came into view and opened up before them as they approached. Neil wondered if a Rebel fleet was waiting to ambush them, or if they'd hail them first to ask their credentials. The Rebels preached mercy and fairness, so Neil wasn't surprised when Eden's Twilight entered the atmosphere unharassed and free of ion cannon fire.

"They're letting us through," Nicky informed Neil through the comm to confirm his thoughts, "Good thing we've got the prodigal son on our ship."

Neil figured he was referring to the political asset, Kevin. A band of smugglers and a runaway from the Empire sure as hell didn't qualify.

Yavin IV's sky was blue enough to let Neil know it had enough water to sustain human life. It was lush with plant life and native species that flew between tree branches and skittered over the ground. Neil was unused to such prosperity of color and life and it was jarring to witness after so long living in the desert. Of course the Rebels would prefer a view such as this. Neil was surprised the Empire hadn't scoped this moon out themselves for one of their many agricultural farms.

A vast hive-like temple came into view. It was made of weathered stone and covered in thick foliage as if the moon were reclaiming it for itself. It was obvious some ancient people had built and utilized this structure but had left its halls long ago.

From a distance, the temple still looked unpopulated. As they closed in, however, Neil noticed more and more signs of Rebel occupation. There were power and shield generators spread around, and people that looked like ants from where Neil sat scurried around the base on foot or speeder to attend to whatever duties the Rebellion saw fit to assign them.

"Here we are, boys," Nicky announced as they pulled in, "Welcome to the Rebellion."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Are y'all ready for Wymack and the Foxes???


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Rebel Alliance, Neil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a peek at the Foxes! Hope you all enjoy!

A Wookiee of a man was there to greet them as they walked down Eden's gangplank. Neil's nerves were set on the finest edge he'd felt since his mother's death. Pilots in bright orange jumpsuits milled about the hangar attending to their ships and chatting loudly to one another. It was strange to see such disorganization in what was supposed to be a military setting.

"Kevin!" the huge man called. Kevin ran to him with a genuine grin and they clasped arms. Neil saw flames tattooed over the dark skin of the other man's forearms.

"It's good to see you again, General," Kevin said as the others followed him to meet this stranger.

"It's good to see you, too," the general replied. He turned to Andrew and his crew and gave them a nod. "All of you. We've heard a lot of chatter through our informant network. I was starting to think you'd been killed for good."

"Awe, you missed us, Wymack?" Nicky crowed, "Don't worry, it's not that easy to shake us. Even if you move your base across the galaxy."

"I shouldn't be surprised. You guys are like a swarm of orbalisks," General Wymack replied wryly. He clapped Nicky on the back in a gesture of familiarity and Neil turned to Andrew with accusing eyes. Not affiliated with the Rebellion his ass.

Andrew understood. He tapped his fingertips along his lips in manufactured glee and said, "Semantics."

Wymack noticed the extra passenger in their group and gave Neil a considering once-over. Neil resisted the urge to evaporate into thin air as Wymack extended a steady hand for him to shake.

"General Wymack of the Rebel Alliance," Wymack introduced himself, "I don't think I've seen you running with this lot before."

"Just a stray we picked up along the way," Andrew explained for him, "Neil be a good boy and say hello to the general. He's a sucker for sob stories. I'm sure you'll get on great."

"Nice to meet you, General," Neil offered obediently.

Neil shook Wymack's hand firmly, ignoring the crawling sensation in his gut at touching this man. He could tell Wymack was friendly enough, but he couldn't help it. Wymack was around the same age as Neil's father and it made Neil uncomfortable on instinct.

"Likewise," Wymack responded, "Why don't we do a quick debrief with Command and then I can get you guys settled at the base? You should stick around at least the night to refuel and rest up. I'm not sure the waves have settled after the stunt you pulled on that Destroyer. I assume that mess was you guys?"

"It was Inquisitor Riko," Kevin said. Neil saw that saying the cruel man's name was difficult for Kevin. "He caught me with the plans. I'm sorry." Kevin looked away. "I failed to bring them here with me. I failed everyone on Rogue Squadron. I failed the Rebellion."

Wymack placed a comforting hand on Kevin's shoulder. It was an intimate gesture.

"You did everything you could," Wymack said quietly, "We all did."

"It wasn't enough. I'm so sorry."

"We'll find another way," Wymack reassured him, "We will."

This determination was so foreign to Neil. It was foolish and unrealistic. He didn't know what information Kevin had failed to bring back to the Rebels, but it didn't matter. Any access to it after being compromised was probably now sealed more tightly than ever. Neil doubted they'd ever get the chance to retrieve it again. What difference would having that information make in the long run, anyway? It was probably just another drop in the ocean of the Empire's power.

"Now," Wymack switched topics, "Debriefing. Let's go."

Wymack led them through the winding halls of the temple. It was an odd sight, all the wires and reinforced plating sprawled over the ancient stone walls. The people they passed offered familiar, casual greetings--the impudence of which would never have been accepted by a general in the Empire. Wymack, however, returned them with equal friendliness.

Neil tracked their path through the base carefully, peeking into any open doors they passed in case whatever was behind them proved useful in the event of an impromptu escape. What he found was a series of storage rooms and bunks.

The command center was a dramatically dark room with a wide round table lit white in its center. Seats rose around it in amphitheater style. The people occupying these seats turned towards Neil and the others as they entered the room in eerie unison. Neil was reminded of the droids programmed to work the assembly lines of some of the Empire's factories.

A tall, regal woman dressed in all white stood and approached them. She walked with authority like it had been bred in her since birth. Perhaps in her very genetics. Wymack bowed his head respectfully to her.

"General Wymack," the woman said, "Senator Day. I'm glad you've made it back to us. We were worried when your communication systems went down on your way here from Scarif."

"I was captured, Chancellor Mothma," Kevin told her regretfully, "By an Inquisitor. He imprisoned me on his Destroyer and confiscated the plans. I failed--" Kevin choked up slightly, "I failed to retrieve them. I'm sorry."

The woman's face fell in disappointment. Lines appeared on it that Neil knew had been worn there by continuous struggle against the Empire. This was Mon Mothma, Neil realized, infamous founder of the Rebel Alliance.   
  
Mon Mothma mimicked the soothing gesture Wymack had offered Kevin before and squeezed his shoulder.

"It's okay, Senator," she said, "The chances of success were always minimal. We will restrategize. Are you willing to give your report now?"

"I can tell you everything now," Kevin complied. Mon Mothma nodded her head.

She stepped back and gestured him forward for the circle of strangers sitting around them to see him better. Neil was standing among the highest ranking people in the Rebellion. They had the power to order thousands to their deaths.   
  
"We were contacted by Rogue One to help him retrieve the plans," Kevin started. He shot Neil a look that Neil recognized signified this topic was Need-To-Know. Mon Mothma picked up the same meaning and looked to Andrew and his crew.  
  
"Why don't your friends find their way to the spare bunks? I'm sure you all need to rest," Mon Mothma offered diplomatically.

Neil understood when he was being dismissed. He turned to leave but Andrew didn't budge.   
  
"I'm feeling peachy, actually," Andrew said, "I'll just wait right here."

Andrew picked out a random seat nearby and sat down in it, his feet propped up on the powered down monitor in front of it. Neil noticed how dirty Andrew's boots had gotten as they smudged the blank screen.  
  
"Of course, Captain Minyard," Mon Mothma replied graciously. Neil thought the title of captain was a bit generous for a smuggler.

"If you will, then, Senator Day?" 

Neil was still hovering awkwardly, unsure whether he should leave or not. Nicky nudged him with an elbow and helped Neil make the decision when he nodded over to where Andrew sat and whispered, "Come on." 

"There was a request sent out to known Rebel affiliates by Captain Andor to rendezvous near Scarif--within its orbit, but not on-planet. We weren't sure what it was we were retrieving until they sent the data. Some of the Rebel fleet had shown up and we were caught in a firefight with Imperial ships," Kevin informed them. He spoke with practiced poise.

"After we received the data there was a massive explosion on Scarif's surface. We could see it from space. It was then that we lost contact with Rogue One--we believe it was the work of the superweapon. That this was a test of its capabilities, and it destroyed the entire base in one blast." There was an anxious furrow between Kevin's eyebrows.

An unsettled murmur passed through those listening. 

"Imperial reinforcements arrived and most of the Rebel ships went down." Kevin paused as if mourning the people who'd died on those ships. He touched the tips of his fingers over his heart.

"We managed to escape with the remaining copy of the plans but we were intercepted by Inquisitor Riko in the Arkanis sector. He had been tracking us for weeks and he caught up to us while we were recovering from the battle. I was captured with the plans." Kevin's expression became pained as he remembered his captivity.

"He destroyed them before my rescue. I'm so sorry," Kevin finished. 

"There is no need for apologies," Mon Mothma said, "Had we given the Rogue Unit our full support you might have had more success. Or we might still have failed to get the plans. As it is we cannot know. We will get those plans, Senator. For the fate of the galaxy."

Mon Mothma looked around at the dark faces in the room and addressed them gravely, "We can assume, based off of Senator Day's account, that construction of the superweapon is complete and it can be used against us at any time. If what we've heard of its power is true, we need to be more vigilant than ever. The Death Star must be destroyed."  
  
Neil had heard that term before--he couldn't place it. He'd overheard many Imperial secrets when he'd lived with his father. But as a child, he hadn't understood the importance of many of them. The memory itched at him but did not reveal itself.  
  
"Senator," Mon Mothma said kindly, "You should rest. Thank you, and you and your crew as well Captain, for risking your lives for the Rebel Alliance. It can't have been easy. We've relied on your efforts yet again, and I can't thank you enough. Please spend as much time as you need recuperating here. We will make sure you receive our full hospitality. General, if you wouldn't mind seeing them to their quarters?"   
  
"Of course, Chancellor," Wymack answered.   
  
Wymack led them from the room and Neil felt an actual relief in the air pressure as he stepped away from the members of the Rebellion's High Command. As a man used to flying below the radar, Neil was not comfortable being inspected by people who could trace his identity to its roots if they were properly motivated.  
  
"There are some open bunks by Fox Squadron. You guys can do the whole reunion business. It's been a while--was it Crait? Or Dantooine?" Wymack prompted.  
  
"It was a hell of a lot of trouble, was what it was," Nicky replied. He grinned and clapped Kevin on the back. "And that's when His Highness joined us."  
  
"For the last time, Nicky," Kevin said, annoyed, "I'm a Senator, not a prince. I was elected to my position."  
  
"I'm pretty sure the Galactic Empire," Nicky pronounced the formal title with excess flourish, "has replaced you with someone more, uh, compliant? Rebel spies don't poll well these days."  
  
Aaron snorted, "Especially if the only person voting is the Emperor himself."  
  
Kevin's face scrunched comically in anger, but his silence told Neil he didn't have an argument against what they were saying. Kevin Day was still respected as a Senator by the Rebel Alliance but he could not reclaim that title until the Empire fell. Even if he had been working for the Rebellion without suspicion by the Empire all this time, there was no hiding his betrayal after his capture by Riko and subesequent escape.

Neil didn't know what it was like to lose everything as Kevin had. He'd always had nothing.  
  
Pilots slept on the ground level of the temple for closer access to the hangar in case of an attack. There was an unusual liveliness to the people occupying the hallways as they passed. Pilots of varied races and species bantered with one another loudly and cheerily. These people had all likely suffered terrible things under the Empire's rule to make them join the Rebellion. What inspired such happiness in them now?  
  
Before Neil could understand, Wymack stopped them outside an open door with several strangers lounging inside. They wore the same flashy orange suits issued to all Rebel pilots. Neil almost squinted at the brightness of it.  
  
"General!" a tall man with a face that promised sunshine exclaimed. Neil caught the man's arm whipping behind his back. So did Wymack.  
  
"Nice try, Boyd." Wymack raised an eyebrow. He didn't interrogate Boyd over the obvious contraband. "Whatever antics you're planning for tonight, just make sure you're ready for the mission tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Boyd said with a cheeky grin. He lifted his open hand in a sharp salute.

"Alright, smart ass," Wymack replied fondly, "Foxes, you remember Minyard and his crew."  
  
"How could we forget?" A young woman with short, dark hair asked. She stood from the bunk she'd been sitting on and approached them in the doorway.  
  
"I don't think I remember you, though," She added to Neil, "I'm Dan--Fox Leader. And these are the other Foxes," she gestured to each person as she introduced them, "Matt, Renee, Allison, and Seth."  
  
"Hey," Neil greeted them, "I'm Neil."  
  
"Are you another of Minyard's freaks?" Seth cut in. His face wore an expression Neil expected of someone who'd been beaten down by the Empire. It was tough like he'd weathered too much and it left a scar on his bearing.  
  
"Play nice," Wymack warned. Seth made a face like he'd rather suck a rancor toe. Wymack ignored it.  
  
"I have to head back to Command. Andrew, Kevin, your lot can stay in the room right across the hall. Try not to blow anything up this time." Wymack turned and gave them a lazy wave over his shoulder as he left. Neil found the phrasing 'this time' interesting and wondered if he would hear that story in the future.  
  
As soon as Wymack was out of sight, Matt relaxed and dragged a large glass jar out from behind his back. He caught Neil's eye and gave him a sheepish grin and a wink.  
  
"Hello, Andrew," Renee said. She had bleached white hair that reached her chin and a calm face like a blank sky. "Nicky, Aaron, Senator, it's nice to see you all again."  
  
"Hi, Renee," Andrew chirped back. Neil couldn't tell if it was an affected politeness or genuine. Andrew ignored the others in the room entirely which didn't seem to bother them.  
  
Matt was passing the jar around and each of the Foxes took a swig of the liquid inside except for Renee. When Dan offered Neil a drink, he waved it off with a quiet thanks.  
  
"Neil," Allison addressed him suddenly, "How long have you been on Andrew's crew?"  
  
She had a viper's smile and long, sun-dyed hair. Neil was sure anything he said would trip some sort of snare. He chose his words carefully.  
  
"I was just brought on recently for a job," Neil told her simply. It was mostly true.  
  
"How unfortunate. I'm not sure the price they're probably paying you is worth it. I might find something more worth your while," Allison offered. She recrossed her legs and leaned forward.  
  
"We can't pfassking trust him, Ali," Seth argued, "Or them. They're assholes looking for their next score. They don't give a shit about the cause."  
  
"He has such a sweet face, though," Allison cooed. Seth's face reached its boiling point.  
  
"Ah, man, you know she's playing you," Matt said to Seth through a grin. Seth took an angry gulp from the jar that was handed to him without comment.  
  
The jar made it around the group until it was empty and another was brought out to replace it. The Foxes were rosy-cheeked and buzzing halfway through it. Andrew, Aaron, Nicky, and Kevin even drank some and now sat silently while the others joked around boisterously with each other. Neil hovered by the doorway, angled so he could keep an eye on both the hallway and the room of Foxes.  
  
"We heard you guys were at Scarif when shit went down," Matt prompted. He had an arm around Dan and was leaning a cheek on the top of her head.  
  
"It was a slaughter. We were completely overwhelmed by Imperial forces," Kevin said solemnly, "We barely made it out alive. No one else did."  
  
Weight settled over the room, a reminder that there was a war still being fought beyond the walls of this temple, the atmosphere of this moon. A war that had yet to finish taking the lives of their comrades and people.  
  
Dan had the mostly empty jar in her hand and raised it in a somber toast. She tipped it back for a small sip and passed it over again. One by one the Foxes toasted in honor of those lost and took a drink. Both Renee and Neil abstained from actually drinking, but Renee did lift the jar when she got it in acknowledgement.   
  
Neil ended up with the empty jar and stared through its glass to the warped view of the floor below. He watched a droplet roll across it and remembered the moisture farm on Tatooine. The intimate atmosphere of the room was starting to feel stuffy.  
  
Andrew seemed to have had enough of the free alcohol and extra company and stood to leave. Neil could tell that alcohol lessened the effects of the implant and mellowed Andrew out. Other than his subdued mania, Andrew showed no sign of being affected by the alcohol and left on steady feet.  
  
Andrew's crew followed him out without a word and Neil took it as his cue to leave as well. He was relieved to have an escape from the Foxes and the cramped feeling of that room.  
  
Andrew and his crew were given a room large enough to fit several bunk beds. Andrew claimed the top bunk in the furthest back corner by throwing his jacket atop it. He didn't follow it up and Neil found out why when he took out a rolled cigarette and lit it by the window.   
  
The smell of smoke brought Neil back to Tatooine and that night he spent staggering away from his mother's burning body, their burning farm. There was a painful tightness to Neil's chest that was too sudden for him to soothe right away.  
  
"Can I?" Neil was asking before he thought to stop himself.   
  
Andrew tipped an eyebrow up but offered the cigarette to Neil with an exhale of smoke. Neil pinched it lightly in his fingers but he didn't smoke it. Instead he held it close and inhaled the scent greedily.  
  
"You're wasting it," Andrew complained.  
  
Neil realized he'd closed his eyes and opened them to the view of Yavin IV's thick vegetation through the window. It was nothing like Tatooine's deserts. Still, with the smell of the cigarette burning, Neil could not shake Tatooine from his mind. He let himself remember the sand, the suns, the dry air, and his mother's voice.  
  
"Sorry," Neil said to Andrew, although he wasn't. He handed the cigarette back and watched Andrew put it between his lips and breathe in deeply until a black worm of ash curled off of the cigarette's tip. He blew the smoke out in Neil's face and stubbed it out on the window sill.   
  
They went to sleep without saying anything more. Neil was still thinking of his mother as he dozed. He did not want to know what she would say to him if she knew he was sleeping in a Rebel base, so he recalled, instead, the memory of her teaching him Mando'a during a long trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :D
> 
> I'll be working on my other story for a little so this probably won't update until next week, just a heads up! 
> 
> As I said before the timeline is changing from the Star Wars timeline, and even the AFTG timeline so everything will start to look different. If there are any errors in Star Wars references, please let me know! I do a ton of research to check but some of it is still from memory so I might be off.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil wanders around the Rebel Alliance's base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Happy belated 40th anniversary to A New Hope! Thanks for your patience, I'm trying to evenly update both of my stories. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

The next morning, Neil stumbled upon the Foxes fawning over the TIE Neil had stolen from the hangar in Inquisitor Riko's Destroyer. It was still splattered in brightly colored paint from their time on Aketi VI. Neil had tried to ditch the conspicuous tag-along, but the others were adamant about keeping it.   
  
Kevin had argued that the Rebellion could analyze the TIE's systems and engineering for their own ships. Nicky refused to let his "masterpiece" become space junk. Neil could see the gears grinding in Andrew's head to just let the thing go out of spite but his indifference won out and he let them keep the thing. At least it was no longer trackable by the Empire. Also, the bizarre paint job had thrown the Rebels off of thinking it was an Imperial pilot attacking when they'd first entered Yavin IV's atmosphere.   
  
Matt Boyd caught Neil watching the Foxes running their hands wondrously over the craft and waved him over enthusiastically. From a distance Neil observed that the Foxes showed no signs of a hangover from the night before. As he got closer, he saw the symptoms in their mussed hair and delayed movements. Seth, in particular, had dark circles coloring his bottom eyelids.

"Morning, Neil!" Matt greeted him, "I can't believe you guys brought us such a fun present."  
  
Neil gave him an odd look. He didn't know if "fun" was the proper term to describe a ship designed specifically for shooting Rebel pilots out of flight to their deaths. Dan's head popped up suddenly from the open hatch on top of the fighter and grinned when she saw Neil below.  
  
"Hey, kid!" She called, "I heard you're the one that trashed the Imperial tracker in this thing? Care to hop in and show me how you did it?"  
  
Neil wasn't entirely comfortable sharing his knowledge, particularly its source, but Dan and Matt's expressions were so disarming he found it hard to refuse. He climbed up to the TIE's entry hatch and slid down to join Dan in the small cockpit. The Foxes peered in trough the glass at them from the hangar like fish in an aquarium. 

The TIE inner paneling had been meticulously picked apart as Dan analyzed the contents behind it for reverse engineering. Neil was impressed with her thoroughness considering her position as one of the fighter pilots. The squad leader must have been accustomed to the incredulous look Neil was giving her because she gave him a wry explanation.

"I used to work as a ship mechanic, among other things, back on Thabeska--I was adopted by my aunt after my mother passed away and she was more interested in getting high out of her mind on spice than feeding me or my cousin." She shrugged and gave him a grin. "I'm pretty good at figuring ships out, but I'm even better at flying."

"Oh," Neil said. 

"Yeah, well anyway, about that tracker. I think I know what you did here--" she gestured under the main controls where Neil could see the hurried leftovers of his tampering, "--but I just want to double check with you before I write up my report."

Neil leaned in as if reviewing his handiwork to think over his response. He didn't want to sell his story too hard, so he kept it simple.

"Finding and disabling the tracker was pretty easy--you could just settle on jamming the signal by redirecting the feed here." Neil tapped the bundle of wires he was referring to and saw Dan nod knowingly.

"The tricky part comes in here--The Empire really doesn't want to lose its elite pilots or expensive ships so they've looped the signal through the targeting and locator systems and any loss of feedback coming from the tracker will result in almost complete loss of steering and aim."

"And I assume you worked around that with this?" Dan prodded at the messy cluster of wiring Neil had only barely managed to assemble before the other TIE pilots flying around Riko's Destroyer realized he wasn't one of them.

"Yeah, it's a little messy but here." Neil carefully untangled the wires and pointed out which of them did what. When he was done, Dan sat back on her heels and typed it all rapidly into her datapad.

"Wow," she said when she finished, "I can't believe you figured that out while fleeing from a Destroyer."

"I might have done it once before," Neil admitted. Although it was his mother who taught him. Dan raised an eyebrow.

"And how did you somehow escape in a stolen TIE twice without getting blown up?" Dan asked.

"Recklessly. There's a lot of risk in my line of work, but the payoff is usually worth it." He'd let Dan guess at what exactly his line of work was.

"Usually," Dan replied with a snort, "And what is Minyard paying you for your services? You think it'll be worth it this time?"

Allison had wondered the same thing last night, although Dan's voice had a clearer tone of sincerity in the question. Neil looked at her and understood her doubts. He had many himself.

Neil thought of his confrontation with the Inquisitor--how he would probably be recognized when they reviewed the hangar bay's security footage. He thought of Nicky's gut-roiling flying. He thought of the relief in Kevin's eyes when he'd been rescued. Of Andrew offering his secrets as he painted his mind onto the hull of Eden's Twilight.

Neil didn't know when he'd started feeling like he was part of Andrew's crew. He was still trying to make sense of the events that allied him, however loosely, to the Rebellion. 

"I guess I'll find out," Neil answered vaguely. If Andrew followed through on his promise and kept him out of his father's grip it would be worth a thousand stolen TIE's, and more.

"Guess so," Dan said. Neil couldn't read the expression on her face. If it was soft or merely thoughtful.

"While I have you here, can you tell me anything else you know about this ship?" Dan switched topics and sat up in a business-like manner.

Neil realized he wanted to tell her everything he could. If he could throw even the smallest wrench in the Empire's carefully cultivated plans, he would do it. So long as he was as safe as he could be from their retribution. He spent over an hour going through different parts of the TIE systems he was familiar with.  
  
When he was finished, Dan had even more of the fighter dissected and laid out on the cockpit's floor. He left her there lost in thought and occasionally typing something into her datapad.

The Foxes had been called off somewhere while Neil had spoken with Dan. He was surrounded by strangers and instinctively postured himself meekly so nobody would notice him. He figured he should look around and see if Andrew and his crew were ready to leave yet. He'd heard Andrew called out of their temporary bunk earlier. Nicky and Aaron had both also slipped out early in the morning, leaving him alone with a near-comatose Kevin, and Neil hadn't seen them again since.

Neil didn't need to search far. He rounded the curved hallway of the temple and almost ran into Aaron as he was leaving one of the rooms branching off of it. Aaron twitched his eyes up in irritation which froze on his face when he recognized Neil.

"What is it?" A woman's voice called from within the room. Neil could see shelves of containers and realized it was a supply closet.

"Nothing," Aaron called back hastily. He tried pushing his diminutive bulk over Neil's view into the room but it was too late.

A pretty human woman peeked out over Aaron's shoulder and eyed Neil curiously. She was wearing a light gray technician's boilersuit and her blonde hair was mussed up on the side as if she'd been running her hands through it. With a glance at Aaron's stiff, defensive posture, Neil suspected it hadn't been her hands.

"Hello," the woman said politely to Neil. She smiled and offered her hand over Aaron's shoulder. "I'm Katelyn--"

"Kate--" Aaron interrupted but she kept going.

"--I don't think I've seen you around the base before. Were you just recruited?"

Neil took the hand apprehensively, unsure of what exactly was happening. Aaron's hands flexed as if he wanted to throttle Neil.

"I'm actually just here temporarily," Neil answered. He purposefully kept his name to himself, trying to limit how many Rebels remembered him.

"Oh, really? What for?" Katelyn asked.

"A job," Neil answered. He glanced at Aaron. "For, uh, Captain Minyard."

Katelyn's expression immediately became guarded. Neil wasn't sure if she realized she did it, but she inched herself further behind Aaron as if shielding herself from Neil. Neil didn't know what to make of that obvious apprehension.

"I didn't realize you guys took on another crew member," Katelyn directed at Aaron.

Aaron gave Neil an accusatory look like withholding the information had been his fault. He narrowed his eyes.

"He's not joining us for long," Aaron said, "Like he said, it's only temporary."

It was probably a threat, but Neil couldn't make himself care. Who Andrew hired for his crew was his business, not his twin's. Katelyn sensed the tension between the two men and awkwardly slipped into the hallway. 

"Well, those med droids aren't going to run diagnostics on themselves. I should head back."

After a moment of hesitation, Katelyn leaned down and kissed Aaron's cheek. He turned his cheek into it but pursed his mouth anxiously. If Neil had doubts about their intimacy, they were gone now.

"Nice meeting you," Katelyn said to Neil. She rushed off.

Neil sensed Aaron moving and dodged the hands that grabbed for him. He resisted his reflex to pull out his blaster and instead backpedaled away. Aaron's hands were still reaching up and squeezed angrily into raised fists as he glared at Neil.

"Don't tell Andrew about this," he said menacingly, "You will regret it if you do."

Aaron didn't wait for a response. He pushed past Neil and left, storming towards their bunk. Neil felt a little awkward following him so he walked slowly and took stock of the open rooms around him again.

So Aaron was keeping secrets from Andrew. It surprised Neil--not because the two seemed particularly close, but because Aaron was so obedient to Andrew's commands. Neil didn't know what happened to give Andrew that authority over his twin, and Neil wondered if it had something to do with Andrew's cybernetic implant.

An indignant voice interrupted Neil's thoughts. When he passed the room it echoed out of warily, he saw it was a gold-colored protocol droid telling off a blue and white astromech. It was strange to see droids with such colorful personalities. Any Imperial droids that strayed even the slightest bit from their original programming were destroyed swiftly. It was another reminder of how different the Rebellion was than the Empire.

Everyone except Nicky was back in the bunk by the time Neil reached it. Kevin had finally risen from sleep and was flipping through some book with intense focus. Aaron ignored Neil as if they'd never met in the hallway on the way here. Andrew was the only one who acknowledged Neil where he stood by Kevin.  
  
"Hello, hello, hello," Andrew called, "We thought maybe you'd run away. Catch."  
  
Neil caught the blade Andrew threw without thought. He gave Andrew an annoyed look at the stunt and snapped it back with lethal aim. Andrew snatched the knife from the air before it could land in his left eye and broke into uncontrollable laughter.  
  
Andrew was more hyper than usual. He was flipping a knife rapidly in each of his hands and tapping one heel in a dizzying beat. Whatever he'd been called to do that morning had set something off in his implant.   
  
Kevin looked up at the commotion and started when he realized Neil had joined them. He shoved the book he'd been reading out of sight.  
  
"Where's Nicky?" Kevin asked.

 "Here!" A breathless Nicky stumbled through the doorway. "I was just catching up with Erik." He gave them a wink.  
  
Aaron groaned, "No details, please."  
  
"Your loss," Nicky replied with a lascivious grin, " What's the verdict, Andrew?"  
  
Neil wanted to know the same thing.  
  
"Wymack has a job for us with the Foxes. It's a pick up on Wobani," Andrew told them.  
  
"What cargo?" Neil asked. He knew better than to let Andrew get away with vague explanations. Instead of throwing up his defenses at the question, Andrew gave Neil an overly-wide, approving grin.  
  
"Prisoners," Andrew answered.  
  
Neil barely restrained his frustration. Going on rescue missions for the Rebellion sounded exactly like the conspicuous idiocy that would get him caught by his father.  
  
"Turn it down," Neil demanded.  
  
Andrew feigned searching for something in the room and replied, "I'm sorry, were you speaking to me? Oh, Neil, you really don't think you can tell me what to do, do you?"  
  
"This isn't part of our deal. I never signed up for the Rebellion. I'm not sticking my neck out like this."  
  
"Such a child. You need me to spell it out for you?" Andrew waited a moment and sighed theatrically.  
  
"You've spent years hiding out on boring, lifeless rocks on the Outer Rim. It's predictable. The Empire will find you every time if you keep it up. They know you'd never willingly go somewhere with a large Imperial presence. They won't be expecting you."  
  
Andrew tucked the knives into his arm guards and steepled his fingers. Their tips tapped each other quickly in a wave.  
  
"All we're doing is taking the prisoners from point A to B. Keep your head down, and don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine. And we'll get our credits. We're doing the job. Got it?" Andrew finished.

Neil's tongue felt heavy in his frustration. He knew Andrew's reasoning had merit, but it went against his very nature to jump into heavily guarded Imperial territory when he had a million other options.   
  
"Break our deal if you want, Neil," Andrew dared. 

  
"You'll be breaking it first," Neil argued, "You said you'd keep me away from the Empire."  
  
"The thing about the Kessel Run," Andrew said instead of answering, "Eden's Twilight has made it through in less than 12 parsecs."  
  
Neil scoffed. He knew well enough from smugglers on the Outer Rim that moving through the hyperspace lanes along the infamous smuggling route meant several jumps and a winding path. It was impossible to travel in a straight line, which is why smugglers always boasted calculating the shortest route. Twelve parsecs was the most outlandish he'd heard yet. Traveling through it in such a short distance was impossible without colliding directly with the planets along the way.  
  
"Sometimes, the only way to get where you want in time is by flying as close to your obstacles as possible."  
  
Andrew stepped closer to Neil and spoke in a low voice.  
  
"I told you I'd get you where you want, Neil. The Empire won't catch you."  
  
Neil folded his arms and didn't budge as Andrew leaned in even closer. There was a challenge in Andrew's eyes. Neil returned it.  
  
"Fine," Neil said, "But if you're wrong, I'm gone at the first sign of trouble."  
  
This time, Neil wouldn't hesitate. If he needed to, he'd make sure the others wouldn't talk if they were captured. He wouldn't risk the next Inquisitor he met having a more familiar face.  
  
Andrew waited a breath and stepped back.  
  
"Great!" Andrew said mockingly, "Neil's given us his permission. Look sharp, we're leaving tonight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I love hearing from you guys, so please leave any comments or let me know if there are any inconsistencies in the universe! (I might have mostly bluffed that tech speak so please also let me know if it is blatantly inaccurate.)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission with the Foxes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all like this chapter! It's mostly action with some flying stunts thrown in.

Wobani was located in the Mid Rim of the galaxy which meant it wasn't nearly as bereft as the planets Neil had become used to seeing. The planet itself was ringed in a dusky purple cloud of debris. No Star Destroyers perched nearby, signifying the arrival of important prisoners, or officers.  
  
All Neil knew about the planet was that it held one of the larger Imperial labor camps--Imperial Detention Center & Labor Camp LEG-817. According to Nicky (or at least what Neil weeded from Nicky's long-winded explanation), the labor camp had held the former Rogue Leader captive. This was before she'd been rescued and recruited by Rebels so she could help retrieve intel on the mysterious Death Star.  
  
The prisoners Andrew and his crew were picking up now held different purpose. Apparently, a Rebel squadron of fighter pilots had been captured alive during their last mission and sent here for holding. They were being relocated to Coruscant for questioning soon, so the time frame for their extraction was limited. Neil knew that while some of the motivation to rescue these pilots was based on the Rebellion's claims to morality, most of it came from fear of the pilots revealing too much to the Empire.  
  
The Foxes' X-wing fighter ships winked into existence around Eden's as they exited hyperspace. The Foxes were supposed to go in and lay down cover while Andrew's crew grabbed the prisoners. Rebel agents on-planet were springing the prisoners at this moment. Hopefully, they'd do it without a hitch and return to their own ship for escape. Neil knew they didn't have very long before response to the breakout made security around the planet uncomfortably tight.  
  
"This is Fox Leader, checking in. Roll Call," Dan's voice crackled over Eden's comm.  
  
The Foxes went down the line. Neil noted the gaps in their numbers--the pilots they'd lost.  
  
"Fox 4, present," Matt piped up.  
  
"Fox 6," Seth followed shortly.  
  
"Fox 7, here," Allison said.  
  
"Fox 9, ready," Renee added.   
  
"Minyard?" Dan requested.  
  
"Here," Nicky answered for them. He rested his hands loosely on Eden's controls.  
  
"Confirmed. Foxes form up. Moving in." Dan's voice cut out. Neil assumed she'd switched to a channel with just her squadron to minimize distracting chatter for Andrew and his crew.  
  
Nicky followed them and navigated towards Wobani. He glanced compulsively at Eden's radar for signs of Imperial patrols as he closed in on the planet. Assured it was clear, they hit Wobani's atmosphere and descended. That was Neil's cue to head to the gunner bay. This time, he was on dorsal gunner while Aaron took ventral.  
  
Wobani came into view around Neil as he buckled himself into his seat. He adjusted his hands over the controls and trigger until he was comfortable. Then, he reached out carefully with the Force to test who else was on Wobani with them. None of the deformed energy wells of the Dark Side were close enough to signify an Inquisitor (or worse) was in the area. Neil pulled back slightly and concentrated more on the matter at hand.  
  
The muffled bang of explosions in the distance let Neil know the Foxes had started their attack. They would be focusing their fire away from the extraction point so the crew of Eden's Twilight could move as unencumbered as possible. There were enough trees around them that they had sufficient visual cover--along with their stealth tech, which shielded them from scanners.  
  
They came up on the extraction point and spotted the prisoners crouching below with their blasters held up. They must have been given a description of Eden's Twilight because they looked relieved to see the ship descending to meet them.

As they got closer, Neil saw that the prisoners were rake thin and made up of a variety of species and races from across the galaxy. In contrast to the Rebellion's diversity in its military agents, the Empire was very selective of who held what positions within their ranks. Neil had grown up mostly surrounded by other humans.  
  
"Lowering ramp," Nicky announced. Neil shook himself and turned back to looking out for trouble.  
  
It came faster than he would have liked. The Empire must have spotted them, or bad luck had them intersecting with a late patrol. Three TIE's were closing in with impressive speed. The prisoners on-ground looked up in alarm, likely having heard the tell-tale whine of the fighters flying nearer.

"Ramp down, loading up," Nicky said. His voice was tense.  
  
Neil targeted one of the TIE's and waited until it was within decent firing range. When his targeting system lit up in confirmation, Neil squeezed the trigger. The hit landed, and the TIE sagged in the air as smoke billowed out of a wound in its side. Another shot and the entire thing went down. He turned his sights on the next one.  
  
"Cargo secure," Nicky announced. Andrew and Kevin were in the passenger bay, probably giving their new companions an uncomfortable welcome. 

"Roger," Dan replied, "Ready to cover for your retreat."  
  
"Roger, roger," Nicky parroted in a droid-like monotone, which Dan ignored.  
  
Nicky jerked the ship away suddenly, throwing off Neil's aim for a second so his next shot went wide. Neil cursed Nicky's erratic flying for the thousandth time and lined his shot up again. Aaron was firing below, although it was more difficult for him to get decent aim with the TIE's circling above them. A tree nearby caught an unlucky bolt and went up in thick black smoke.  
  
_Boom_. A shot took Eden's heavily in the side and Neil's teeth rattled in his head at the impact. Their shields held, though, and Nicky punched it so they shot through the sky.  
  
Neil could barely aim. Trees blurred past as his seat swiveled to lock onto a target. He finally got a hit in and knocked the second TIE down. Aaron got a good shot in soon after, and the third also sank below the treeline with a crash.  
  
They were clear for the moment. Nicky took the opportunity to shift Eden's toward the sky. From the corner of his eye, Neil saw the handful of X-wings that held the Foxes follow their lead. A small shuttle Neil didn't recognize (he assumed it held the Rebels who'd been working from the ground) zipped past them from where it had been waiting in the trees.  
  
A tinge of bluish light warned Neil a second before it was too late. The Rebel shuttle crashed fatally into an expansive shield and exploded into shrapnel and smoke.  
  
Neil almost reached out with the Force in a knee-jerk reaction, but he stopped himself. His heart jumped in surprise as Nicky pulled up hastily to avoid impact.  
  
"What was that?" Aaron called over the comm in alarm.  
  
"I don't know!" Nicky yelled back, "Foxes, come in, this is Eden's Twilight."  
  
"I read you, Eden's. This is Fox Leader," Dan's voice crackled through.  
  
"What the pfassk did they just crash into?" Nicky demanded. More TIE fighters were spitting from the trees like a swarm of insects.  
  
"Planetary shield--must've been activated when the alarm sounded. There'll be a gate somewhere, but they've probably closed it. Go to ground and rendezvous at these coordinates," Dan rushed out.   
  
The Foxes were shooting TIE's out of the air with efficiency Neil couldn't help but admire. They were clearly high-caliber pilots.   
  
"Got 'em," Nicky confirmed, "See you there."  
  
Dan cut the line without further comment, likely too busy avoiding getting hit. Nicky dropped them down into the treeline again, zipping through the trees with madcap finesse. Neil had his hands full firing at the TIE's that pursued them and he barely took stock of where they were headed. They'd need to shake the fighters before they landed.   
  
A shadow passed overhead, then another, and another. Neil caught the round bodies of TIE's blotting out huge swathes of the sky around Eden's Twilight. The fighters were closing them in rapidly. They were weaving around each other in a formation that was throwing Neil's targeting systems off.  
  
"Nicky, I need a clear shot," Neil said.   
  
"Hold on," Nicky responded.  
  
As he spoke, one of the fighters swerved around a tree and managed a shot that glanced off of their shield. Neil felt the ship shudder around him.  
  
Neil returned the blast with one of his own. The TIE dodged, rearing up and losing its aim. For the moment. Neil grit his teeth and lined the shot up again but Eden's jerked suddenly to the side.  
  
Neil was about to ask Nicky what the hell that was when he saw it. A sheer wall of stone skimmed past so close Neil saw chips of rock getting chewed up by their shields. Several of their pursuers couldn't pull away in time and slammed into it. They crumpled to the ground in graceless smoking heaps.   
  
"That's what I'm talking about!" Nicky cheered.  
  
"Nice," Aaron agreed in relief.   
  
Neil had no doubts as to why Andrew had chosen Nicky as their pilot. As nauseating as his flying could be, he was brilliant in the air. They lost the straggling TIE's with a few shots from Neil and Aaron and sped to the rendezvous point.  
  
The Foxes had hidden their fighters in a series of caves burrowed into the side of the rock wall they'd flown around. Nicky scanned the area for one that fit Eden's and slipped inside, docking it to the smooth rock and throwing up their cloaking shield. It wouldn't do much upon close inspection, but from a distance it would get the job done.  
  
Neil joined everyone in the passenger compartment and got a look at the rescued pilots up close. There were six of them and they'd obviously been underfed and unbathed during their incarceration. Neil could smell several days' worth of sweat and grime from where he stood.  
  
Nicky ambled in with Aaron in tow and they gave the escaped prisoners wary once-overs. Andrew ignored everyone as he messed around with a random blaster. Some of the pilots gave him concerned looks like his hand would slip and blow them up.  
  
"Uh," Nicky said awkwardly. He couldn't stand the silence. "Welcome?"  
  
One of the prisoners, a Twi'lek female who held herself with authority, stood and tried to give them a friendly smile.  
  
"Thank you for rescuing us. I'm Alvarez," She said, "Trojan Squadron."  
  
Nicky rubbed the back of his neck and returned her smile hesitantly.   
  
"Well, we haven't actually rescued you, yet," he said. He glanced at Andrew as if the man would rebuke him for speaking to her. Andrew ignored him and clicked something into place on the blaster.  
  
"You got us away from the camp," Alvarez pushed, "That's all we can ask for." She flexed her hands and Neil noticed the chafe marks on her wrists leftover from an extended time in stun cuffs.  
  
"Let's go," Andrew interrupted. He threw the blaster to Kevin who caught it in surprise and gave Andrew a confused look. Andrew rolled his eyes at him.  
  
"Calm down. You won't need to use it," Andrew said. He didn't elaborate on why, then, he'd given it to him. Kevin holstered it in his belt anyway--as obedient as always.  
  
Andrew released the gangplank with a hiss and the ramp descended. He led everyone else out into the cave. The prisoners were a little clumsy from fatigue, but stepped carefully with obvious practice.   
  
They had to navigate down a ledge of flaking rock to the ground, but it only took a few minutes for everyone to touch down on Wobani's grass. Neil was surprised, somehow, to hear the telltale calls and clicks and buzzing of wildlife in the forest around them.  
  
The Foxes were waiting for them, blasters out and eyes roaming for any signs of danger. Neil snorted at their bright orange jumpsuits. Hopefully the forest's canopy was thick enough to disguise them from the air.  
  
Dan caught sight of Alvarez and broke into a grin. The other Foxes followed her gaze and did the same. Alvarez and Dan shared a tight embrace.  
  
"You're a sight for sore eyes," Alvarez said into Dan's hair. Dan squeezed the her tighter and let go.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear about the others," Dan said, "Jeremy told us everything."  
  
"He's alive?" Alvarez blinked tears of relief from her eyes. "I wasn't sure. Everything went wrong so quickly."  
  
"He wanted to be part of this mission, but he's still adjusting to the prosthetic. His right leg. Everything else is healed up great. I'm sure he'll be out-flying us all again in no time," Dan reassured her.  
  
Lost limbs were a common misfortune of the war. Neil had seen all manner of prosthetic replacements--most of them just the metal framework with no nerve sensors or skin grafts. He wondered if the Rebellion had the resources to provide the more advanced prototypes.  
  
Alvarez paused before she spoke again, as if she didn't want to hear the response.  
  
"Laila?" was all she asked. But there was a pained tightness in her eyes that said more.  
  
"Just a few scrapes. She didn't even need a trip into the bacta tank." Dan gave Alvarez another smile and the woman returned it. Her whole body unwound from the tension that had been holding it taut.   
  
"Not to interrupt, but we should be moving," Allison cut in gently. Alvarez acknowledged her with a nod.  
  
"Sorry, you're right. We don't want to be out here too long," Alvarez agreed.  
  
Dan slipped back into command and looked around at everyone in their group.  
  
"We need to get a signal through to the Rebellion to let them know the situation. Nothing's getting through that shield unless we can disable it. It'll be difficult. We know what happened on Scarif," Dan said grimly.  
  
Neil didn't, but he didn't point that out. He knew how damning a planetary shield could be. There was virtually no escape unless you paid someone enough. He doubted scrounging up the appropriate bribe to let two Rebel squadrons and a crew of Rebel-friendly smugglers through was feasible in their current circumstances.  
  
"The air response will be heavy, so we'll need reinforcements. They won't let that shield down until we've been caught. Defenses around the main generator will be watertight, so we'll need to focus on the gate itself."  
  
"No," Andrew interrupted.  
  
Dan's eyes were flint as she turned to Andrew. "Excuse me?"  
  
"No," Andrew repeated, drawing the syllable out obnoxiously, "We're taking down the main generator."  
  
"Is that so, Captain?" Dan enunciated the title scornfully.   
  
"It is."   
  
"Well, _if that's so_ , I'm assuming you have some sort of plan to take down the troopers, snipers, and walkers with just the 16 of us? And somehow make it out and off-planet alive?"   
  
"Better yet, I have plans. Or at least I will." Andrew tapped the cybernetic implant. Dan gave him a skeptical look, which Andrew met with his usual violent grin.  
  
"And here's how we'll get them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andrew gets the last word in like every chapter lately. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Working on the next update, so I'll try to get it out soon (or at least I'm trying to get through this little arc while I'm going). :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans and planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I wrote this entire chapter on my phone since I haven't had much chance to get to my computer. I read through it a few times to comb out the weird autocorrects but there might be some stragglers. 
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!

 Apparently, Andrew's 'plans' were actually the plans for Labor Camp LEG-817 on Wobani. Neil watched as Nicky slid a coil of wire from a pocket in his vest. He felt strangely uncomfortable witnessing Nicky snap one plug into a port on Andrew's implant. Neil turned away and scanned the nearby foliage for any potential danger. Kevin was silent next to Neil, eyes also darting between the trees.

  
They were crouching next to the outer wall with the paneling expertly dismantled. Nicky and Andrew had assured Neil that they could get access to the camp's database through the port nestled among the wiring within the wall. This was a drill they'd gone through enough times before--Neil could tell. 

"Andrew can find anything in their system if it's archived at all," Nicky had said.

"Better than any astromech," Andrew boasted with a disingenuous smile. 

"It's true," Kevin added, missing the joke.

Neil maintained a skeptical curiosity. It seemed like a glaring breach in Imperial defenses. Neil knew the Empire had many weaknesses, but it still always felt invulnerable to him.

The guards they'd knocked out upon arriving at the building were bound by their own stun cuffs and lay prone in the nearby bushes. Neil didn't know when the next shift of guards would arrive, or how long Andrew had to look for the information they needed.

Dan, Renee, and Matt were on standby at a different entry point. Once Andrew had the plans, they'd meet them there to infiltrate the facility. Everyone else waited in the ships to bolt once the shield went down.

"Tick-tock, Nicky," Andrew said. 

Nicky gave Andrew a tentative look, but he took a deep breath and plugged Andrew into the base's system anyway. The change was instant. Andrew's expression deadened, all trace of his implant-induced mania gone. His eyes flitted back and forth like he was reading something at hyperspeed. 

Neil didn't like that look. It was like watching troopers hooked up to their virtual educational simulations. His father had taken him once to observe how they brainwashed their soldiers. How they "utilized their full potential." Neil had the fleeting fear that Andrew's mind was completely lost to the Empire now.

Suddenly, Andrew's expression tightened. He bore his teeth in a grimace and a hand lashed out and gripped Nicky's arm tightly. He turned to Neil. His eyes were still distant, the pupils dilated so only a sliver of his irises ringed them.

" _Tashanjat,_ " Andrew said in a voice so far away it sounded like another's.

Neil's blood ran cold. It was the Old Tongue.  _Liar,_ he'd said _._

"What?" Neil heard himself ask.

" _He is looking for you._ "

Neil stumbled away. He reached out with the Force immediately. The Darkness rushed to him like iron filings to a magnet. He could hear Nicky's voice calling to him from millions of parsecs away.

Nothing. Neil could sense nobody near enough who was powerful with the Force. His fingertips were numb. A hand reached for him and Neil threw up one of his own. He clenched it viciously.

"Neil, Stop! Stop!" A voice was shouting.

A sick sputtering drew Neil back from the Darkness with a snap. Neil released Nicky's throat with horror. He was shaking. Nicky collapsed to the ground and wretched desperately. Kevin was staring at Neil with wide eyes, his mouth open in shock.

"I'm so sorry," Neil whispered.   He pulled away from the Force and dropped down to his knees beside Nicky.

He repeated it, "I'm so sorry."

"Pfassk," Nicky choked out once he had control over his breathing again, "That was a little too kinky, even for me. I knew you could do some freaky shit but that..."

Neil didn't need to hear the rest to know what Nicky meant. Neil was a monster. Deep down, his father had succeeded in turning Neil into a creature of the Dark Side just like him. 

" _Vexok,_ _"_ Andrew interrupted above them. He was muttering it repeatedly. Neil glanced up and saw blood dripping from his nose. It trickled down his lips and turned his teeth red.

"Andrew!" Nicky leapt up and pulled the wire from the implant with a quick tug.

Andrew's entire body shuddered. He shut his eyes until he was still. 

"What's wrong? Andrew? Are you ok?" Nicky was hovering around Andrew whose eyes cracked open to observe him in tired irritation. Kevin looked too lost to say anything.

"I've got the plans," Andrew said in answer, "Let's go."

Andrew wiped at the blood on his face with indifference, succeeding only in smearing it further. When his grin inched back across his lips, it was bloody. Nicky still looked worried.

"I've never seen anything like that before when you're plugged in. What were you saying?" Nicky asked.

"Saying? Nicky you know I don't speak when I'm under."

Nicky turned to Neil. "You understood him--what was that?"

"He was saying 'wake up,' over and over," Neil replied. He couldn't deny that he'd understood the words after his overreaction.

Neil didn't tell them that Andrew had been speaking in the language of the Sith.  He couldn't  fathom why it had been on Andrew's tongue at all. Kevin gave Neil a hawkish stare like he knew something more, but he kept his mouth shut.

"I didn't recognize that language," Nicky responded, casting a wary eye at Neil. Neil brushed the comment off. Nicky could assume it was some uncommon dialect along the Outer Rim. 

"What else did you find?" Neil questioned Andrew. Something had to have triggered that reaction.

"Files." Andrew's implant was making him talkative again. "On you."

Neil felt his chest constrict like his father was gripping is heart with the Force--he'd done it before. He was dizzy, heat climbed up his throat like he was going to vomit.

"What--what did you find? What did they say?" Neil asked.

"Someone's got a very nice bounty out on his head. Alive, unfortunately. And you've got a nickname. I think I recognize it from our little charade on that Destroyer. What was it again?"

"Don't," Neil interrupted. He couldn't hear that name. Not now. Andrew gave him a look that said he was debating between pushing Neil over the edge, or leaving him be.

"Neil, wha--" Nicky started. _Bang_!

Andrew yanked Kevin down to the dirt as blaster fire zinged past them and scorched the wall nearby. Neil saw sunlight gleam off of white armor in the trees.

"Pfassk! Troopers," Nicky spat. He returned fire with careless aim, trying to get the troopers to let up and give them some breathing room.

Neil was still shaken. He had to work to center himself again. The Force felt slippery around him. It was a stranger. 

Andrew knew. He knew the truth. He had to. He'd spoken to him in the Old Tongue. Only the dead, or those who wrought death through the Dark Side knew that language. Was he an agent of his father? Was Neil walking stupidly into a trap?

Neil felt like sand blowing to nothing in the wind.

"Neil, focus," Andrew's voice was pulling him back. There was such clarity to it. It felt like Neil was turning his face to the sun. The Light.

Neil looked at Andrew in incredulity. He recognized that sensation like a childhood dream from another life. His consciousness was being drawn through the Force. To Andrew.

"You..." Neil didn't know what to say.

"Are you trying to get shot? I won't object, but I feel like it's a waste of a good bounty. I could offer to turn you in instead?" Andrew quipped. He aimed and shot as he spoke, knocking out one of the enemy troopers.

Calm had found its place over Neil. He could breathe easily. There was a balance in him he didn't know had been skewed before. Was it Andrew? Had that power been real, or had Neil been so off-kilter he'd stumbled to an outlandish conclusion? His doubts washed away in the sea that was the Force.

Neil felt for the remaining troopers and grasped their flat minds with ease. The energy that found him in the Force was different from the Darkness. It was foreign to him, yet he naturally understood how to coax it to his will. 

Neil closed his eyes and his hand rose on some internal instinct. He took a moment to exhale then swung the hand down. He felt the Force respond  flawlessly to his command, and every trooper in the trees collapsed soundlessly.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"Okay, I'm not complaining but what the hell?" Nicky commented. He stood slowly, as if unsure if the enemy would spring up and start shooting at them again. 

"That was..." Kevin trailed off in awe.

Neil had never felt more powerful. He was whole in a way that was almost uncomfortable. His skin tingled and every life form on the planet was like a raw nerve ending connected to his mind. He could feel what they felt, see what they saw, know what they knew. He could get lost in this and never return to himself.

 _No_ , he thought. He couldn't drift that far. With effort, Neil pulled himself back to his single body still crouched outside LEG-817.  

"More will be coming," Neil said as he straightened up. He didn't feel like explaining himself when he was still figuring out what had just happened to him. 

Nicky must have sensed Neil's reluctance because he pressed a finger to his comm and announced, "Plans acquired. Moving to rendezvous point. Hold tight." 

There was a pause as Dan likely replied in confirmation.

"We're talking about this later," Nicky said firmly once he cut the line. Neil smothered a sigh. He should've known better than to think he'd been let off that easy. Nicky caught it and shook his head.

"Seriously, we're here to help you, Neil. You're part of our crew. You can trust us. Please trust us," Nicky said.

Neil couldn't. Nicky would never make such declarations if he knew who Neil really was. 

Andrew was already moving. His gait was labored, although he disguised it well. Neil was more observant than most and he could tell Andrew was still recovering from whatever he'd gone through while tapped into the Imperial database.

Neil himself was still buzzing from the strange energy that had taken hold of him in the Force. There was a longing within him to reach out again and submerge himself wholly in it. He inhaled through his nostrils and controlled the urge.

Neil felt the Foxes before he saw them. He touched their heartbeats and it felt like a shock to his oversensitive mind. He shivered. There was something good in the Foxes--somehow he sensed it. They were substance in the same way his father was a void.

Whatever inexplicable gravity Andrew had held over Neil earlier was now faded. Maybe it was the cybernetic implant, but when Neil reached out to him, all he could feel was a muffled presence like static.

Dan spotted them and acknowledged their arrival with a sharp nod. Once Neil saw her, he could make out Renee's bright hair among the greenery. Her head bobbed up. She shot Andrew a piercing look that Neil tried and failed to decipher.

Suddenly, the stark white helmet of a storm trooper popped out from behind a tree.  Nicky, Andrew, and Neil had their blasters up immediately.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the storm trooper called in alarm. He put two hands on the sides of his helmet and tugged it off.

Neil relaxed. It was just Matt. He shook out the wild hair that  had been flattened out a little under the helmet and settled the helmet against his hip.

"Heard some chatter over the bucketheads' line," Matt told them as they approached, "Sounds like you guys had some fun."

Neil shrugged and looked to the others to reply. Nicky was still fretting over Andrew, shooting him glances like he'd collapse any second. And well, Andrew was Andrew.

Only Kevin spoke, and it was just to say, "Security is going to be even tighter." He shot Andrew an accusatory look. "This plan is reckless and the probability of success is even lower now."

Andrew treated Kevin with a shit-eating grin that pinched dimples into his cheeks. 

"You got the plans, then?" Dan asked. 

"Wrapped up in a bow," Andrew said, rapping his knuckles against the metal of his implant. Dan looked his bloodied face up and down with an eyebrow raised.

"Right," Dan said, "Let's get started then.  The layout?"

Andrew pressed something on his right arm guard that clicked and lit a small holodisplay over his wrist. It flickered in the sunlight, but was unmistakably a three dimensional model of the labor camp. Andrew focused the display and they saw the main generator tucked within the compound.

"Security?" Dan asked.

"Guard logs show they have people posted at these locations." Small red dots indicated where they'd run into troopers on the display. 

"So we'll draw them away? Create a distraction. You guys can get in and place the explosives. Once you're out, we'll follow and meet up at the ships," Dan suggested. She assessed their group.

"Im sending Matt with you guys--he'll make sure everything goes boom when we want it to. We'll take Nicky instead. We'll need an extra blaster," Dan said.

"I'm the best demolitions guy in the Rebellion," Matt explained to Neil with a wink.

"Aye aye," Andrew replied. Neil eyed him suspiciously. Where did that compliance come from?

Dan was just as suspicious as Neil. She shared a look with Matt. Then, with Renee who quirked her lips in a reassuring smile.

"Uh, ok, then. We'll be drawing some pretty heavy fire on our end so try and make it quick," Dan finished.

They plotted their routes and split up. Nicky seemed reluctant to leave them but he followed the girls without complaint. 

The horrible realization that Neil was sneaking into an Imperial labor camp--the very place he'd been running from most of his life--was sinking in. It broke through the euphoric haze following his new connection with the Force. The behemoth structure of the inner complex loomed behind the outer wall. This was a place enemies of the Empire came to toil until death.

Andrew's nimble fingers manipulated the release beside the doorway leading into the camp and it opened. Neil had a bad feeling about this. He followed Andrew inside anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and for all the lovely comments as always. You guys are all seriously amazing!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to blow some stuff up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Thanks so much for your patience on this chapter <3\. Hope you all had a nice June (a late happy pride to everyone!) and enjoy this update.

Blood had dried on Andrew's upper lip and he could smell its metallic tang with every intake of breath. There was a brief urge to scrub it off, before it was swept away by  _Prisoner 2401, cell B-26, Convicted - Resisting Imperial Forces, Destruction of Imperial Property, Theft--_ _soner 784, cell F-54, Convict--IMPERIAL NOTICE: WANTED: ALIVE, JEN'WOYUNOKS, PICTURED BELOW, ENEMY OF THE EMPIRE, WANTED FOR THEFT, ESPIONAGE, AND ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION, REWARD: 50M CREDITS, NO REWARD IF FOUND DEAD--_ The words flashed in red through his mind, as did the surly mugshot of a younger Neil.   
  
Fifty Million. Karabast. Whatever had been on the datacard Neil had inadvertently stolen from the Empire must have held the passcodes to the Emperor's bedchamber itself. Andrew was starting to think most of the story Neil had sold him was a steaming plate of bantha shit. He shouldn't have expected less from a compulsive liar.   
  
Booted-footsteps clunked against the floor and Andrew, Neil, Kevin, and Boyd flattened themselves into an alcove in a sorry attempt to hide. They were in luck; the footsteps faded as their owners turned down a different hallway. According to the data still swimming through Andrew's head, they wouldn't intercept any troopers as long as they were careful. Wilds had also radioed them minutes ago to let them know her distraction was under way, which meant forces would be thinner throughout most of the building.

Andrew pulled up the holodisplay on his gauntlet to double check anyway. He could remember the map perfectly without looking at it, but his busy mind sometimes needed an anchor to bring itself back to the plan. They were just a few turns away from the generator. And a few more from Andrew's second destination. Andrew closed it out, calculating how long hitting both stops would take him.   
  
Boyd shifted and Andrew looked over to him. When Boyd gave him a questioning glance, Andrew ticked his head to the side, telling him to move forward. Boyd obeyed, moving with light feet down the corridor. He stopped at the next corner, peeked around it, and waved them on when it was clear.

Neil walked like a skittish Lothcat. His shoulders were bunched up under his ratty jacket and every click and hum within the base's walls made a finger on his free hand twitch. Andrew's instincts were good--he always knew when things would go south long before they did--but Neil's jumpiness almost made Andrew second-guess them. Irritating Imperial codes shaking around in his head like rogue asteroids did nothing to ease that paranoia.

Boyd tossed an arm out to stop them and everyone came to a quick halt that almost had Kevin toppling Neil completely. Andrew hated waiting. He tapped his fingers along the side of his thigh to resist the urge to tap his feet. Nothing happened.

"What is it?" If anyone was more impatient than Andrew, it was Kevin. He was always riding some sick wave of anxiety that occasionally pitched down and left him free falling. Andrew was usually the one to catch him, or hold him in place.

Boyd didn't turn around to answer. His lips went flat in a thoughtful line and he cocked his head as if listening. After a second, he replied.

"Thought I heard somethi--" Boyd cut himself off as low voices rose through the hallway.

"--told me it was just a blip but after the breakout they want to be sure," someone was saying. 

"Hell, I'd clean the toilets if they ask me to right now. I'm just relieved I wasn't assigned Block F," someone else replied. There was a grunt of agreement.

"Thirty-thirty said there's word of one of those creepy Inquisitors coming to hunt down the runners, and, uh, _discipline_ the guards assigned to F."

Kevin froze up and Andrew had to grab his shoulder and dig his thumb into his back to bring him back from the edge of panic. 

One of the troopers hissed a low curse. "I hate those things."

The sound of a door releasing its catch, sliding open and closed, cut off whatever else they were saying. Boyd held his arm out for another minute, listening. Kevin was shivering under Andrew's hand. Andrew pressed down harder as a reminder of their promise.

"Move," Andrew ordered. 

Boyd snuck forward and their little procession continued. Andrew didn't take his hand off of Kevin's shoulder until they reached the generator room. Neil and Matt took up post on either side of the door with their blasters so Andrew could get to the control panel. He slipped his lock picking tools out of their slots in his gauntlets--a screwdriver, data pick, and a thin wire with an Imperial adapter. He only needed the pick and wire to ease the door open.

The generator was suspended in the middle of a cavernous room like an ugly metal heart. Wires and metal tubing connected it to the rest of the compound, drifting between smooth walkways lit with dim white light along the edges. Obvious white buckethead armor gleamed as troopers marched around the room. The guard had been increased double compared to the timetable Andrew retrieved from Imperial logs, despite Wilds' group drawing fire away. Andrew guessed a prison break and whatever Neil had done to a patrol of troopers outside was making the Empire sweat.   
  
Andrew motioned everyone to cover and they slunk low to the ground around the edge of the room. Neil's eyes were focused upward in front of Andrew, tracking the bucketheads where they tramped around overhead. Boyd swung his pack over his shoulder and started digging inside as they walked. Andrew knew he was rooting out some of the Rebellion's choice explosives.  
  
  
"Gonna place the charges," Boyd whispered to them, "You guys can put these along the base of every one of the structural pillars around the room. I'm getting in closer to the generator." He heaped bombs into Neil and Kevin's arms and hurried off.  
  
A reckless desire to hurl a handful of thermal detonators at the troopers whipped through Andrew's mind and stuck. He pulled a dagger from the sheathe on his gauntlet and flicked it through his fingers to shake the impulse. It didn't stop him from taking most of the explosives from Kevin's arms.  
  
"Quickly," Kevin urged. Andrew rolled his eyes, exaggerating the movement with his head so Kevin could see it in the dim lighting.  
  
They placed clusters of detpacks swiftly, careful to stay out of sight of the troopers. The detpacks would weaken the pillars enough for Boyd's more destructive creations to knock them out. Neil, Andrew, and Kevin also had enough thermal detonators to blow a hole in the planet, and they were going to leave a nice trail of them behind as they ran. After everything went up, they wouldn't have long to make a break for their ships.  
  
Boyd was covered in dust and smears of grease when he met them by the door. He had two remote detonators in hand and a grin that rivaled Andrew's own in its intensity.   
  
"This is going to be beautiful," Boyd declared, "Ready for the show?"  
  
Andrew's heart was skidding around in his chest again. Adrenaline swelled in his head, making it hard for his thoughts to come together. He was ready. He pressed a thumb over the activation panel of one of the thermal detonators and chucked it into the center of the generator room. The metallic clank of it hitting the floor made several troopers shout in alarm.   
  
"Oops," Andrew said.  
  
"You're such an asshole," Boyd responded. He gave Neil an impish wink and bellowed, "Fire in the hole!" Then he ran like hell from the room.

Andrew shoved Kevin through the door and Neil followed, bolting faster than Andrew had ever seen him run. Boyd raised one of the remotes above his head with a flourish as Andrew's detonator blew. He clicked something on it and a huge blast made the walls of the compound rattle. Andrew felt heat smack his back and he stumbled forward.   
  
"Don't forget to be generous with our souvenirs for the Empire!" Boyd yelled at them. Neil stopped to drop one of his detonators and kicked it lightly so it rolled down a branching hallway. He met Andrew's eyes briefly as he caught up with them and Andrew felt the adrenaline tripping under his skin punch him suddenly in the chest. He inhaled sharply. Karabast.  
  
Boyd hooked suddenly around a corner and Andrew recognized the administrative branch of the compound. He pushed Kevin to Neil and drew up short by one of the offices. Neil shot him a confused look over his shoulder as Kevin knocked clumsily into him and Andrew tapped two fingers to his temple in a salute.  
  
"Babysitting time," Andrew told him, "Meet you outside."  
  
"What?" Kevin snapped. He stepped close to Andrew with a glare that rivaled Aaron at his crankiest. Andrew put a palm to his chest and pressed him back.  
  
"Go," Andrew ordered.  
  
"No, you're going to get us killed!"  
  
Andrew yanked the blaster he'd modified earlier from the holster at Kevin's hip and shoved it in his hands. "If they corner you, pull the trigger and throw."   
  
He thrust Kevin at Neil again, and this time Neil grabbed Kevin's arm when he stumbled into him. Neil gave Andrew a curious look, but tugged Kevin along obediently toward the exit.  
  
"Outside," Neil confirmed. And he was running again.  
  
Andrew definitely didn't watch his ass as he went.  
  
Alarms pulsed intolerably through the building as explosion after explosion turned it quickly into piles of rubble and dust. Maybe the prisoners being held in the surrounding buildings would take advantage of this distraction to escape. Andrew frankly didn't care if they did or didn't. He focused on the compound's blueprints in his mind to direct himself to the warden's office.   
  
Andrew felt it was going to happen before it did. A blaster shot zinged right over his shoulder as he jerked away, singeing the material of his jacket. Andrew had his own blaster aimed before anyone else could fire. A stormtrooper went down with a quick shot, and several more filed around him. One of them had a finger pressed to the side of his helmet where Andrew knew a button activated his comm.  
  
"Intruder in--" A thermal detonator smacking him in the face cut the trooper off. He caught it thoughtlessly and didn't have the time to realize what it was before it blew.   
  
Andrew was already running when the edge of the blast hit him. It slammed him to the ground, but he'd been expecting that. He rolled clumsily to his feet, and was running again before the pain set in. He didn't realize he was laughing until sound started to trickle in through the ringing in his ears.   
  
The warden wasn't in his office. Pity. Andrew thought the look on the warden's face when he broke in, bloody and covered in gray dust, would have been amusing. He smeared sooty hand prints on everything as he limped to a plain desk in the middle of the room.   
  
A standard-issue Imperial datapad sat beside the warden's main computer and Andrew slipped it into the larger pocket sewn into the interior lining of his jacket. He could crack that later. His fingers itched to sift through every drawer in the desk, but another boom rocked the building to remind Andrew to get his ass in gear.  
  
Using his implant to hack into Imperial systems without Nicky meant Andrew needed something else to pull him back out of his head after he found the information he needed. He'd modified the gauntlet on his right arm long ago to send out a slight shock that would force him to consciousness long enough to pull the plug from his implant. Andrew set its timer and went under.  
  
It was always overwhelming at first. Imperial security was like a fist closing over him, but there was a pattern to slipping through it that Andrew had mastered long ago. Information opened up before him once he'd tricked the system into accepting him. There was much more he could access with the warden's clearance than he'd gotten to outside.   
  
Andrew scanned thousands of documents in seconds. He picked up bits and pieces as he hunted out one key code name--possible trade routes the Rebellion could ambush, weapons inventories, highly classified prison logs--but he couldn't find what he needed. Not a hint or whisper of the Death Star.   
  
_Pain._ Andrew's eyes snapped open and his heart kicked in his chest as the shock stung his arm sharply. He yanked the plug out viciously. What a load of dosh. It wasn't enough, but he didn't have time to try again.  
  
The artificial cheer always dimmed after connecting his implant to a database. The implant was buffering, catching up to itself before it could force the smile back on his face. He was sore everywhere from the beating he'd taken from the detonator, but his face in particular ached as its muscles were relieved from straining against a manic grin.  
  
Andrew wasn't sure what of the building was left standing, and he didn't want to risk the ceiling coming down on his head. He'd have to leave through the wall. Andrew still had a small detpack he'd saved for his escape, and he stuck it to the exterior wall near a tiny window that overlooked a bleak courtyard. Troopers were running back and forth across it in panic. Andrew would cross that bridge when he got to it. He jogged back to the hall and braced himself as he blew the wall out.  
  
Andrew burst from the smoke curling out from the explosion like an angry rathtar. He shot his blaster wildly around the courtyard, hitting anything and everything in sight. He felt laughter sliding back up his throat, sizzling in his chest. Before any troopers could react properly, he was dropping the last of his detonators and knocking out the compound's outer wall. He ran through another cloud of smoke with embers spitting at his heels and sprinted to the rendezvous point.   
  
Everyone else was already there. Neil caught sight of him first, his head already turned in Andrew's direction like he'd sensed him approaching. He probably had, the creepy bastard. Wilds took in Andrew's filthy appearance with suspicion, but saved him the commentary so she could shout, "Go, go, go," to the others.   
  
"Holy hell, Andrew," Nicky cursed. Andrew flashed his teeth at him and smeared the dried blood on his face further with the back of his hand. Nicky's eyebrows scrunched in concern, and Andrew ignored him.  
  
"Get what you need?" Neil asked him. Those eyes were far too knowing.   
  
"Not really," Andrew answered truthfully. He twirled his blaster over a finger.  
  
"Too bad."  
  
Andrew didn't respond to that. He had the unpleasant urge to step closer to Neil, to meet that insolent stare with his own. He let his laughter rip itself from his throat instead. Neil's lips twitched so slightly into that disappointed pout he probably didn't realize he was making. It made Andrew laugh harder.  
  
"Guys, move," Wilds commanded. Everyone else was already picking their way quickly through the brush. Right. That.   
  
Andrew caught the blaster spinning around his finger and beckoned Neil forward in a sarcastic, 'after you,' gesture. Neil shook his head and went ahead.  
  
Troopers were weaving through the trees on foot, but Renee shot them down before they could spot the rebels running like hell through the forest. Andrew didn't like the sticky concept of respect, but Renee had actually earned his not long after they'd met, and she continued to earn it. She didn't even look to see if her shots landed. She knew they would.  
  
The Foxes' ships were ready to fly as soon as they reached them. Wilds was yelling into her comm for takeoff as they approached the caves where the Foxes had hidden their fighters. The whoosh of engines starting up echoed around them. Andrew's ankle protested as he scaled the flaky rock wall to get to their ship, probably twisted at some point in their jaunt through the trees.  
  
Eden's Twilight was still docked in the narrow cave they'd landed in. Aaron had started her up on Wilds' cue and the ventral hatch was open for everyone else to climb through. Fox Squadron's X-wings shot from the caves, wind whipping the trees below them and puffing dirt into the air.  
  
Nicky joined Aaron in the cockpit and the two of them navigated Eden's out into the open with the Foxes. Neil was already buckled into the ventral gunner, and Andrew was observing him scan the sky for Imperial TIE's. He gripped the back of the seat as Nicky swerved, saving himself from being thrown to the ground.  
  
"Watch out," Neil warned him.  
  
"You watch out," Andrew shot back. A squadron of TIE fighters was growing larger on the horizon. Neil made an annoyed noise at the back of this throat and started shooting.  
  
It was both sickening and exhilarating standing in the gunner bay while someone else was shooting. The gunner chair's platform spun with the cannon as Neil aimed around Eden's to cover it, tossing Andrew around a second before his stomach could follow.   
  
"Don't you have anything more helpful to do?" Neil grit out as Andrew choked out nauseated laughter.  
  
"Yes," Andrew answered. He didn't move. Neil rolled his eyes and took out another TIE.  
  
The planetary shield was gone, its power source cut off, and the Foxes broke out of Wobani's atmosphere without exploding.   
  
"Foxes, roll call," Wilds called to them breathlessly through their comm. Everyone checked in, accounted for.   
  
"Entering hyperspace. Let's get the pfassk out of here, guys. See you on the other side," Wilds said with tired relief.   
  
"Calculating jump," Nicky's voice responded. Neil cleared a path for them, raining TIE debris down to the planet below.  
  
It was then that a Star Destroyer snapped into existence right above them.  
  
The Foxes scattered as they avoided impact. Panicked shouts echoed over the comm. Nicky yanked Eden's in a loop, and Andrew nearly snapped his neck as he was knocked back.  
  
"No," Neil gasped. Andrew looked up at him. He was shaking. "He's here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think of the chapter :D


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explosions in space (probably don't look like this, but hey)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Hope you've all had nice weeks! Here's some wacky space flying and explosions!

Dan was shouting orders to the Foxes over the comm, trying to form up to take on the TIE's spilling out of the Destroyer in endless supply. Neil could barely hear her over the Darkness pressing into his mind. Andrew had shoved Neil to the floor as soon as he'd frozen up and was now whooping as he picked TIE fighters from the sky. Sweat beat tracks through the dirt caked over Andrew's skin and he occasionally grimaced like he was going to get sick all over the glass hood of the gunner bay.

"This is Fox Leader requesting backup outside Wobani. Location: Wobani System, Bryx sector, Mid Rim. Sending coordinates. Fighting one Imperial-class Star Destroyer with a full battalion of TIE-fighters," Dan was saying urgently.

Neil was stuck in that chair again, mind probe drifting around his head. His father's voice echoed into his mind. _Let your anger take you. Stop this useless fight. This is who you are. Who you were born to_ be. 

Neil was so cold.

 _Your weakness will be your undoing_ , his father scolded him in the Old Tongue, _The Dark Side_ will _take you. Control that power or it will devour you_. Neil thought it was too late.

He was trying to suppress it like his mother taught him, shutting himself off from the Force. It was like holding a river between his cupped hands. It flowed through him whether he wanted it to or not. Darth Asmenys would know he was there. He would know.

Neil jerked over his knees and vomited bile onto the gunner bay's floor. It splattered wetly across the metal and a sour smell rose into the air. 

"Neil," Andrew said through the Darkness. The sound of his voice was shocking to Neil, like taking a breath without realizing he'd been suffocating.

"They won't catch you." He said it like it was fact. Like Asmenys' knife wasn't already pressing into them from above, spewing horde after horde of TIE fighters.

"This is the fastest ship in the galaxy," Andrew reminded Neil. He hopped up from his seat, ignoring the mess Neil made, and arching his back as he stretched. "And we made a deal."

Like it was that simple.

"Nicky, I'm coming down," Andrew said into the comm.

"What?" Nicky squawked back, "Andrew, no, you can't--"

"You and Aaron get to the guns," Andrew ordered. He hauled Neil up by his armpits, and didn't budge when Neil's full weight sagged against him.

"Its gonna get a little bumpy here. Better buckle up," Andrew warned Neil. He half-dragged Neil up the ladder through the passenger bay. The escaped prisoners were strapped in there with Kevin, wearing somber faces like they knew they were going back into the Empire's clutches. Andrew returned their dour expressions with a cheeky smile.

Neil stumbled after Andrew into the cockpit. Aaron was already gone, but Nicky was still at the controls. He twisted them in the air to avoid two TIE's and punched them forward as a blast grazed their rear.

"Andrew, don't do this," Nicky pleaded.

"Get to your gun, Nicky," Andrew replied. He was unwinding a wire from his arm guard.

Neil watched as Andrew shoved himself into Nicky's seat and promptly jerked them down under a squadron of TIE's laying down heavy fire.  Andrew snapped one end of the wire into his implant.

"Go, Nicky," he ordered. He gave Neil a look. "Sit."  
  
With that, Andrew fished around Eden's controls until he found the right port and plugged into it. It was the same as before. His face went slack, still like the eye of a storm, but this time his eyes tracked back and forth over the scene through Eden's windshield like he was reading a pattern in the TIE fighters shooting around them. Andrew's hands went lazily to the controls.   
  
"Eden's Twilight to Fox Leader," Nicky transmitted.

"I read you, Eden's, what is it?" Dan responded.

"We're pulling a ghost, get ready," Nicky informed her.

"Pfassk, what is he thinking?" 

"Be ready," Nicky repeated. Dan cursed again but relayed the message to the other Foxes. Nicky grimaced at Andrew and ran to the gunner bay.

The Darkness was still soaking into Neil, weighing the air around him, pressed against the inside of his skull. It would be easy to fall back into it, to let it overtake his every cell and breath and thought.

 _Don't, Abram_ , his mother's voice said.

Something drew Neil back. It was that familiar lightness. It was pulsing through the void the Dark Side had rent through Neil and making him feel too whole again. He'd felt this earlier outside LEG-817. Neil peeled his sweaty back off the material of his seat and turned to it. It was Andrew. He had a presence larger than Wobani, than Coruscant, than a sun, whose gravity brought the Force to him like nothing Neil had seen before. He understood everything then.

Andrew's eyes were still darting around, his hands smoothly maneuvering the controls so Eden's danced through space. He flew as recklessly as Nicky but without the gut-churning suddenness.  

Then, Andrew's eyes stilled. They fell shut. And Neil's gut  _lurched._ The windshield flickered with light and snapped back to the view of the Star Destroyer and the TIE's cutting around it in a breath. Neil felt like he'd been smacked across the face, his head was spinning and his throat was crawling up itself. What was that?  
  
Neil pushed a shaky finger down over the comm. "Nicky, what just happ--?" Another stomach-turning jolt interrupted Neil's question. This time, the view that flicked back in front of the windshield was yards away from where they'd been a moment before. _Holy Maker_ , Neil realized. They'd just jumped through hyperspace. 

Neil's heart beat a panicked pulse in his chest. Pfassk, this was more than dangerous, it was suicidal. There were no established hyperspace lanes bridging Eden's from one spot to the next as they flitted through the field of TIE's. Andrew was forcing jump calculations faster than any hyperdrive should have been capable of. One wrong move and they'd crash into a ship, or even debris, and die.  
  
"Nicky, what the hell?" Neil asked. They appeared in front of a TIE and Aaron or Nicky shot it down immediately. As soon as the blast hit, they jumped again.  
  
"Concentrating," was all Nicky said in response.   
  
"We need an opening," Aaron cut in. His voice was strained. "What are they waiting for?"  
  
Neil looked over at Andrew whose eyes were still closed. Sweat dripped through the soot on his face even more thickly. He looked like something born from the volcanoes of Mustafar. But the Light that pulsed through him felt like nothing unearthed from that desolate planet. Neil had thought he'd known the Force intimately. That his father had taken it and split it open for Neil to see everything it was. But he'd been blind to half of its potential.  
  
"This is Fox Leader--shields have been disabled. What's Minyard's status?" Dan reported with a breathless mouthful of feedback.  
  
"Waiting for his signal," Nicky said, "Neil keep an eye on Andrew." Neil found he couldn't take his eyes away from the man anyway.  
  
Andrew took them through another squadron of TIE's, then jumped to the Destroyer's rear. Neil could still make out the TIE's they'd just hit exploding from their fire. It was like watching them spontaneously combust. Time was a warped thing. Neil tried to reach out to the Force to right himself in it when Andrew's eyes popped open and he snapped his fingers.  
  
"Nicky," Neil said hastily.  
  
"Eden's to Fox Leader, we're going for the kill, be ready to jump," Nicky warned Dan.  
  
"Roger," she replied. Neil couldn't see the Foxes' fighters in the mess of explosions and battered TIE's.  
  
"Light 'em up, Aaron!" Nicky shouted.   
  
Andrew swept them swiftly up the spine of the Destroyer while Nicky and Aaron ripped it open with shot after shot that blossomed brightly against the black void of space. Neil felt the brief surge of fury that was his father in the Force. A second later, they were in hyperspace again.

Andrew didn't move a muscle in his seat. His eyes were staring blindly forward, and his hands rested unmoving on the controls. Neil could no longer sense the Force around Andrew. Just that unusual cloud of static, as always. It was eerie, even to Neil who'd once meditated alone in a cave full of hibernating Leviathans.  
  
"Man, I am beat." Nicky flopped against Neil's seat with a gusty sigh. Neil could smell his sweat as Nicky leaned over him. Neil probably didn't smell any better after their escapade on Wobani.   
  
Nicky moved to check Andrew's stony form. When he was satisfied with his inspection, he fiddled with the autopilot on the controls and tugged the wire connecting Andrew to Eden's dash from its port. Andrew's body listed to the side, but Nicky caught him before he slid to the floor. He nudged him back up and adjusted the seat belt so Andrew's unconscious body was slouched over but stable. Nicky gently pressed Andrew's eyelids shut.  
  
"It's always like this afterwards," Nicky explained.   
  
"How long is he going to be out?" Neil asked. Nicky picked at the navigation display as if double-checking their jump calculations.   
  
"Days sometimes. A few weeks. An entire month once. It takes him a while to come back," Nicky admitted. Neil's eyebrows shot up.   
  
"Seriously?" Neil asked, "Why?"  
  
"The processor in his implant gets overloaded. It runs a lot slower and he gets stuck until it catches up. We don't really pull this maneuver that often because it puts him out of commission for so long."   
  
"Oh," Neil replied. Andrew had put himself into a coma to ensure their escape. Neil felt a weight in his chest at the thought. Like something had taken root over his lungs and burrowed through the flesh of his heart. Trust was an unfamiliar, largely unwanted feeling, but it was introducing itself through Captain Andrew Minyard anyway.  
  
"How'd he do it? We should be dead after a stunt like that," Neil said. He had an idea, but the answer was still too mind-blowing to fathom.  
  
"How do you think we made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs? It's Andrew," Nicky said to Neil with a cocky flick of his eyebrow, "Now, why don't you help me haul him over to the refresher? He'd slit our throats in our sleep if we actually gave him a bath, but we can probably hose off some of that grime."

* * *

This time, Neil was greeted by a loud cheer as Eden's Twilight's gangplank touched down. He threw his hands up at the noise, expecting some sort of attack, which set Nicky off in laughter. The din grew as the rescued prisoners rushed out into the hangar to meet their comrades. Neil recognized Alvarez as she ran out to a human woman and threw herself in her arms. 

Neil stepped down the ramp awkwardly, taking a few grateful claps on the back when he entered the crowd gathered at its base. A man Neil assumed was Erik greeted Nicky with a long kiss, and Aaron did the same to a surprised Katelyn. The Foxes were peeling themselves out of their X-wings. Neil could pick them out by their bright orange jumpsuits and returned Matt's grin with a quirk of his lips.

Andrew was still unconscious on the ship. Nicky told Neil he'd be more comfortable waking up alone there than in the bunk they'd been loaned. When Neil last saw the man, he could barely tell he was breathing. He had so many questions for Andrew they were running circles in his head.   
  
"Neil!" Matt shouted to him, "Drinks in the canteen! Come on!"   
  
Neil wanted nothing less than to be surrounded by drunk strangers celebrating this small win while his father picked his tracks apart from Wobani. They might have led Darth Asmenys right to the Rebel's doorstep. Neil needed to return to their bunk to meditate after the day's events.   
  
Neil shook his head as Matt maneuvered through the crowd to reach him. Matt stopped short in front of him with his helmet under one arm. He looked like the poster boy for Rebel fighter pilots. The handsome hero that led young outlaws to the path of the Rebellion.   
  
"You can't get out of it. Dan insists," Matt said. Neil shook his head again.  
  
"They're your comrades. It's your victory to celebrate," Neil argued.   
  
" _Our_ victory. You were part of that. We struck a blow to the Empire today, man. I know you're not part of the Rebellion, but you helped us fight today anyway. Let loose a little. Don't know when your drink's gonna be the last one you get," Matt urged. Neil stepped away.

"I should find a med droid to check on Andrew," Neil hedged. Matt's face fell and Neil backed up further. Better to distance himself now than let the Foxes form connections to him.

"If you say so," Matt said, "Come down if you change your mind. We'll probably be there a while."

"Sure," Neil said. Then he slipped between two taller people and shook himself from the crowd.

Even away from the Foxes and their eye-catching apparel, Neil was getting a lot of attention from the rebels passing through the base's halls. Some greeted him with cheery voices while others simply nodded his way. It was so unnerving Neil had to duck into a random empty room to escape.

It was another supply closet. This time rows of fighter pilot helmets lined tall racks like eerie empty skulls. In the dim lighting, the orange jumpsuits the pilots wore looked like wrinkled skin hanging from hooks. Neil set his back against a wall and slid down it.

He needed to meditate.

"You're one of the Sith," A voice said from the doorway. Neil looked over and saw Kevin standing darkly against a pane of light.

"I'm not," Neil replied wearily. He couldn't entirely convince himself after all he'd done the past few days, but he'd felt the Light. He'd harnessed it. And no Sith could stand in that light without being transformed by it. Kevin wasn't swayed.

"You were speaking in the language of the Sith. What did you do to Andrew outside the prison?" Kevin accused.

"I didn't do anything to him. It was the Empire."

"What are you then? You're no Jedi." He made it sound like an insult. "You speak their language and you use their methods." A hand went to Kevin's throat. He was remembering Neil choking Nicky with the Force.

"I never finished my training. I'm not one of them. Even if I wanted to be I couldn't claim that title. They would execute me for it," Neil let out.

Being here, fighting the Empire, it was changing Neil. He shouldn't tell Kevin even a breath of the truth. Kevin had been a senator, he'd been known by an Inquisitor by name--he must know something of the Emperor's Blade and his runaway son. He would put the pieces together soon enough. And then what would the Rebellion do to him? 

Neil stood. He wouldn't be able to meditate here with Kevin hovering over him.

"Where are you going?" Kevin demanded. He stepped forward but froze when Neil raised a hand to block him. Neil could see the whites of his eyes. He dropped his arm in disgust.

"I need to get a med droid to check on Andrew," Neil excused himself again.

"Nicky already sent for one," Kevin countered, "You can't run away from this conversation. Neil, the Empire grows stronger every day. It's all we can do to hold onto the small victories we gain. If you can look at the atrocities they've committed and not want to do anything--I don't know how you could. I don't know how you wouldn't want to fight back."

Neil had thought Kevin a coward, yet here he was speaking of destroying the Galactic Empire. Of taking apart those in power who took everything from him with his own hands.

"I'm not here to join your Rebellion. I _have_ seen what the Empire can do. What it has done. And I know better than anyone how this will all end. There's nothing I can do for you," Neil bit back.

"There is. You know more about the Empire than we do. You're not a Jedi, but if you aren't part of the Sith, you should stand against them. With your abilities...There needs to be balance in the Force. You can bring that balance," Kevin urged him. 

"I can't do anything," Neil snapped. Not against the Emperor. Not even against his father, the Emperor's apprentice.

Kevin lowered a condescending sneer at Neil that made Neil want to rip it off with his fingers. 

"No. I guess not," Kevin said. He left Neil in a huff, surrounded by empty helmets and suits.

* * *

Andrew didn't come out of his coma for two weeks. Nicky would check in on him several times a day with the med droid but nobody else on base went in to see him. When Neil asked Nicky why (although he probably could have guessed), Nicky told him the last time Andrew had woken from an implant-induced coma he'd sucker punched the med droid technician coming to check in on him.

Neil slept in Eden's Twilight's passenger bay to avoid Kevin and his judgmental stare. The silence on the powered down ship gave Neil the perfect opportunity to meditate through everything that had happened on Wobani. The Force was feeling stranger and stranger. Something was shifting in it, but Neil couldn't yet tell what it was.

Neil would occasionally glance in on Andrew's petrified body in the captain's quarters, but there wasn't much to see from the unconscious man tangled up in wires and tubes. He didn't stick around long, uncomfortable with seeing Andrew so vulnerable.

Neil still had to leave the ship to eat and he ended up getting drawn in with the Foxes whether he wanted to or not. They caught him in the mess hall during lunch, or in the hangar while they ran diagnostics on their fighters. Dan and Matt were aggressively friendly while Allison and Seth were just plain aggressive. Renee, Neil found out, had been raised on Mandalore and spoke fluent Mando'a with him while they helped repair some of the older spacecraft in the hangar. 

Aaron was barely around. Neil assumed he was spending time with Katelyn in the medical bay. He hadn't caught them again in any supply closets, but he was still a little leery when he had to grab something from them. Nicky, however, was integrating himself into the Foxes like he belonged with them. Neil wondered why he kept his distance from them when Andrew was around. Maybe he knew there was a line drawn between Andrew and the Rebellion and stood loyally on one side when he needed to. 

Neil didn't realize he was becoming part of the Rebellion until it was almost too late. Two weeks after returning from Wobani, Neil was helping General Wymack haul some scrap through the hangar when Matt came jogging over with his easy smile. He hooked his hands under the large hunk of metal and helped them carry it to a pile of other salvaged parts.   
  
"Free for patrol, Neil? They called Seth out to help Trojan Squadron with their raid so I'm out of a partner," Matt said.   
  
They carefully set the metal down and Neil shook out his tired arms. A break from heavy lifting would be nice. He hadn't been allowed to use the Force at all while working on the moisture farm back on Tatooine, so he wasn't out of shape, but working to earn his keep with the Rebellion was more physically demanding than he'd expected. Neil looked to Wymack to see if the man would let him go. Wymack gestured over to the engineer that would be inspecting the pieces they'd dragged in.  
  
"Go on, Neil. We're just about done. I should probably head back to command soon, anyway. They can't keep their heads out of their asses long enough to form a proper battle plan without a babysitter," Wymack allowed. Neil gave him a once-over. He'd love to see how the politicians in command would take in Wymack's dirty, sweaty attire. Then again, even the politicians in the Rebellion were more grounded than soldiers of the Empire.

"Alright," Neil said. Matt noticed his blasters still holstered to his thigh and hip.  
  
"Looks like you're ready to go. We'll be going round the Eastern border of the camp so we can cut through the cargo bay," Matt said. Neil gave him a nod and followed him through the base. 

People gave Neil familiar greetings as he passed through the repurposed temple halls. He returned them without thought, giving quick smiles and waves. Matt gave him an odd look.  
  
"What?" Neil asked.   
  
"Nothing. Just surprised you know so many people here already," Matt commented. Neil's eyebrows drew down.   
  
"I don't know them," Neil said, disgruntled. But he did. He knew their names, he'd heard where they'd come from. He caught bits and pieces of their stories between bites in the mess, or while retrieving various supplies, or while helping out around the base. Neil knew they hadn't gotten any information from him in return, but it was still disconcerting to be recognized as 'Neil' by several dozen rebels. To know that the Rebellion he'd heard about in scandalized tones on Coruscant so often was full of real people who were trying their hardest to right the wrongs committed by the Empire.

"Okay, man. Whatever you say. How long are you sticking with Andrew's crew by the way? You said it was just for a job," Matt asked.   
  
"However long it takes," Neil answered vaguely. Even he didn't know how long he intended to stay. Andrew said he'd fly him across the galaxy and back if Neil asked him to. And Andrew had proven how dedicated he was to holding his end of their deal by sacrificing his own safety and security to keep Neil from his father's grasp.  
  
"Well it's good to have another pair of hands around here. You did good on Wobani, man. I know you've got my back if we're out there against the Empire."  
  
"How can you know that? You don't even know me," Neil questioned him.  
  
"Once you've been through that shit together, you know. And I've got great instincts." Matt gave Neil a grin like he meant every word.  
  
Neil could barely say anything after that. He didn't know what he could say. He wouldn't be sticking around with the Rebellion. He'd be leaving these people behind to die. As he swatted lush green foliage aside to trail behind Matt with his blaster out, Neil felt something like guilt solidify in his gut. Kevin's words from the other day burned shamefully at the back of his skull. Combined with the awful humidity of Yavin IV, it gave Neil a headache that lasted when they returned to the base.

But Neil knew better than to think he'd make a difference here. Even if he stayed to help the Foxes, the Rebellion, it wouldn't matter. His father would fell them all like wheat standing tall for harvest.   
  
It was wrong of the Foxes to think Neil was becoming one of them. It was wrong of Neil to let them. He returned to Eden's Twilight without dinner and sat in its dark hull silently. A low voice interrupted Neil's reverie minutes or hours later.  
  
"You're a creepy little bastard aren't you?" Andrew asked him. His voice was raspy from disuse and it reminded Neil of sand scraping against his skin.

"You're one to talk," Neil replied without moving. Andrew's clothes rustled as he moved slowly to the bench Neil was sitting on. He didn't join him, instead opting to stand over Neil in the darkness.

"You're Force-sensitive," Neil said suddenly. He'd been holding the thought in for weeks.  
  
"No," Andrew answered simply. He squatted down to a small compartment in the bench that popped open to revealed a handful of rolled cigarettes. Andrew lit one and straightened up.

Neil closed his eyes to inhale the smell of smoke for a moment. When he opened them, he could see the glint of Andrew's implant in the thin glare of the safety lights. He reached up to it but didn't make contact. It felt like a living thing, buzzing with energy. 

"Did they do this to you because of it?" Neil asked. Such cruelty was not below the Empire.  
  
Andrew didn't answer. Neil dropped his hand. "I'll tell you something if you give me an answer. Anything you ask." It was a dangerous thing to offer, but Neil was desperate for the truth. Andrew let out a quiet laugh like he knew it.

"They did this to me because I refused to obey."  
  
"They didn't kill you?" Neil knew the Empire would execute Force-sensitive children who failed to become one of the Inquisitorius.   
  
"That would have been too easy." Andrew's teeth gleamed like the metal grafted onto his head. "The Empire does not believe in anything but force," Andrew mocked. It was a mantra of the Inquisitorius. One did not trust in anything but the strength of the Force.

Andrew ran a finger along the edge of his implant. "After what I did, they could not just let me die. They needed me to be obedient." Neil didn't ask what Andrew had done. He'd already asked enough. When he reached out to Andrew with the Force, all he could feel was blankness like a lost limb.

Andrew took a long pull from his cigarette. "Now answer me this." He leaned down so Neil could make out his face clearly in the shadows of the passenger bay. "Who are you really,  _Jen'Woyunoks_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you thought of it. We're moving into the next arc which I'm really excited about! :D


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay here! Wrote most of this on my phone since I'm currently traveling. Hope you enjoy this chapter & all have a lovely day. :D

* * *

Andrew finished his cigarette in the dark while Neil had a quiet meltdown. Ash drifted down to stain the knee of Neil's ragged pants and he closed his eyes. Andrew noticed Neil did that when Andrew smoked. It was like he was savoring something, or drifting away. 

"You know who I am," Neil challenged. The idiot was trying to talk his way out of answering by deflecting to the files Andrew had stolen from the Empire. Neil was clumsily fishing for what exactly Andrew already knew. A fat bounty and an old photo was all Andrew had seen explicitly, but he could read enough between the lines and the lies to pick "Neil" apart.

Andrew didn't say anything, although his mouth was ready to run away from him. To cut Neil open for his lies and lay the messy innards out on the floor between them. He put another cigarette to his lips to distract it. His throat was impossibly dry from not drinking anything in weeks and the smoke he drew into his mouth was almost painful. He kept smoking anyway.

Neil took the cigarette from where it smoldered in Andrew's mouth. That was something else he'd done before. It sent a dangerous sensation from Andrew's lips to his gut. He crossed his arms while Neil held the cigarette by his face without taking a drag.

Cigarettes weren't hard to acquire on the Outer Rim, but it was still a waste. Andrew's itchy fingers snatched it back after a long minute and stuck it in the corner of his mouth with an insolent grin. Neil set his hands down and sighed.  
  
"I am running from the Empire. That's true. But they're not after me just because they think I stole important data," Neil started.  
  
"No shit," Andrew retorted. Neil shot him an irritated glare. Their faces were close. Almost too close for Andrew to bear. But he needed to read Neil's expression in the dim lighting, and at times he was drawn to the feeling of walking a tightrope over a lethal height. 

"I was being trained for the Inquisitorius. They found me as a young child, when the Inquisitorius was still just forming. My parents worked for the Empire, you see. They knew Darth Asmenys," Neil grimaced at the name, "was looking for recruits for his new order. The Jedi hunters."

"The Jedi are already extinct," Andrew parroted the Imperial propaganda. The Jedi were a myth, ghost stories to tell the children of the Empire.

"You know better than that," Neil retorted.  
  
Neil's eyes met Andrew's. Andrew had felt something strange weighing the air around Neil from the moment they'd met, but he couldn't pin it down when the implant raced his thoughts outward like blood in water. His suspicions had been intangible thoughts he needed to hold to reality. Mention of the Inquisitors put a bitter taste on Andrew's tongue. He rinsed it with another mouthful of smoke. His fingers were shivering with some sort of jitter. They both ignored them.

"I was one of the first to train under him.  _Jen'woyunoks_ is a Sith word. It means child of Darkness. I was the youngest recruit. When I ran, I didn't just take Imperial secrets. I betrayed Darth Asmenys and his Inquisitors. They killed my mother for helping me escape."

 The Inquisitors had come sniffing for Andrew when his mother sold him out as a child for credits. She needed her spice, not her son. Or at least, not both of them. But he'd spit in the Grand Inquisitor's face and refused to dance for him. Instead of molding him into one of their useless soldiers, they'd ripped out his mind and sold him off to a family on Coruscant. Maybe a family like Neil's.

"Now you know," Neil said. His eyes were fearful behind their defiance. His thoughts were probably already mapping his escape across the stars. "I wasn't exactly forthright when we made our deal. The Inquisitorius won't stop hunting me until I'm dead, or worse." He gave Andrew's implant a pointed look, to which Andrew rolled his eyes

Andrew almost wondered at the similarities in these truths they were laying out in the shadows of Andrew's ship. That both of them had been taken as children for the Empire to bend into little killing machines, vessels of some mystical energy that controlled everything in the galaxy. That they'd both deviated from their protocol to somehow end up here, a distant moon that housed the Rebellion.

He almost wondered at the differences. A mother who'd sold her son to ease her addiction for another few days. A mother who'd thrown away her life to protect her child. A band of metal and wires that had moved his limbs and spoke with his mouth like a mindless droid.

Something important buzzed at the base of Andrew's skull, and he tried to drag it to his mouth forcefully.

Instead, Andrew's implant spat five files on potential moons and planets the Empire could bleed dry with a single harvest of their soil-kiling crops.

" If you want to end things, I understand. Even you can't keep me from them forever," Neil said. He looked like he actually wanted to call their deal off. To run into the void of space. If only to deny him that, Andrew resolved not to let him loose so easily. 

"It changes nothing. You will help me protect Kevin from the Empire and I will help you run from them," Andrew said.

"You can't," Neil replied.  
  
"I will," Andrew cut him off. He blew smoke into Neil's face and the freak leaned into it.  
  
"I am the best pilot in the galaxy. Nicky is a close second," Andrew admitted, "And our ship's faster than anything the Empire's seen before. If they try to catch you, I will rip you from their grasp each time." His head beat with the thought of it.  
  
Neil frowned and Andrew watched the movement with interest. He tugged his gaze away in time for the lights to snap on with blinding brightness. Neil squinted as Andrew pulled back and cursed.  
  
"Oh," Nicky said. A med droid trailed behind him and Andrew scowled at it. "Andrew." Somehow he managed a genuine smile for Andrew. Andrew returned it with a mockery of his own.

"Good morning, Nicky," Andrew said with fake cheer. "I see you brought target practice with you today. How thoughtful."

The med droid beeped in offense, skirting behind Nicky like the man would protect it from Andrew's blaster. Nicky patted the thing sympathetically.

"Rude, Andrew," Nicky scolded him. Andrew unsheathed one of the daggers on his thigh. Nicky gave it a look like he might want to switch places with the droid.

"Glad to see you're doing fine," Nicky commented, "Just in time, too. Mon Mothma is on base."

Andrew forgot the droid, sheathing the dagger smoothly. He stubbed his cigarette out on the bottom of his boot. It left a smear of gray ash that tracked onto the floor when he dropped his foot.

Kevin would be shadowing command like he always did. He held onto his lost authority as a senator with the tips of his fingers. Andrew needed to make sure he hadn't gotten himself killed.

"Good chat, Neil," Andrew drawled. He cracked his stiff neck and ignored Nicky's disapproving glance at his grimy clothes.

Neil still looked like a lothcat ready to go to ground in the weeds. So Andrew needled him with a firm stare and said, "Stay pu-"

A delayed thought interrupted him and his mind ground to an unsettling halt. The revelation frothed up over the edge of Andrew's mind and spilled out. "They want you alive."

Neil's head snapped up in shock. Then his face did a funny thing. It crumpled in on itself in fearful understanding.

"Interesting." Vicious glee made the word stretch itself until it strained. The moniker Neil had been labeled by the Inquisitors peeled itself open to reveal a strange truth. "The Inquisitors miss their lost child."

Andrew didn't wait to watch the remark land, but he heard it in a sharp burn of a breath. That was something he'd have to dissect after he checked on Kevin. "Stay put," he repeated, and left.

"Neil, what's wrong?" Nicky tried to ask, and, really, what a waste of time. 

"Nicky," Andrew called behind him. He didn't wait for Nicky to fail at coercing Neil into open up about his countless issues. Predictably, Nicky jogged over to catch up to him a few seconds later, sighing in defeat.

The hangar was almost empty when Andrew walked out of Eden's Twilight. Only the night crew was out, running repairs on wounded ships and keeping watch in case of an ambush. It was calmer than the base usually was, a rare lull between the flurry of emergency rescues and the dregs leftover from bloody battles hauling themselves back in.

All of command was already seated around the room like they'd been roused from their beds as soon as Mon Mothma set foot back on base. Or like they slept in their seats between tactical meetings. Andrew wouldn't put it past them. They were the type of people to enslave themselves to a cause. Nicky left Andrew at the door, yawning while he walked off.

Kevin was speaking to Mon Mothma in low tones, his shoulders and spine lined like someone who had been raised with a stick up his ass. The figurehead of the Rebel Alliance listened carefully, poise saturated into her every movement. This room was made of pieces that moved along a delicately choreographed dejarik holoboard. Most of them had been born from positions of power before their feet had been cut out from under them by the Empire. Andrew had been born in the gutter, was familiar with the view. The desire to make these people truly understand blood and desperation washed over him and receded in a second.

Andrew tapped the heavy sole of his boot loudly against the floor, picking up tempo until Kevin and Mon Mothma turned to him. Kevin shot him a pissy glare for spoiling his Very Important Conversation and Andrew laughed in his face.

"Captain Minyard," Mon Mothma greeted him.

"Chancellor," Andrew returned with a gaudy bow. She was unfazed by his impertinence.

"I was speaking with Senator Day of your mission on Wobani," Mon Mothma explained.

"Job," Andrew corrected her. He didn't want these righteous types confusing where he stood in their revolution.

"Yes, your job with Fox Squadron. I trust General Wymack has seen to your payment?" Mon Mothma asked. Andrew picked Wymack out of the ghostly faces ringing the room. The man raised an eyebrow, daring Andrew to say no.

It would be a boring conversation if he did. Wymack had probably paid Nicky and Aaron already. Andrew didn't care too much how the credits passed through his crew as long as they didn't end up sunken into a spice dealer or a crooked gambler's hands.

"Do you need to see the receipt?" Andrew asked. Mon Mothma gave him a knowing smile.

"Did you find any other useful information while you were infiltrating the labor camp?" She asked him.

Imperial information was a windstorm in his head. It made noise even when Andrew tried to quiet it down. He opened his mouth and let it out in the same senseless stream that tripped through his mind. 

"Enough," Kevin interrupted Andrew's rambling angrily, "Excuse us, Chancellor. I'll have a report prepared for you by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Senator, Captain." She paused. "Did you find anything on the superweapon?"

"The Death Star?" Andrew clarified, "No. Nothing." 

Mon Mothma nodded solemnly, disappointed. She dismissed him in a subtle turn of her chin, tuning her attention to the silent faces seated around her. Andrew would have challenged that instinctive condescension, if not for Kevin pulling him from the room. Andrew gave Kevin's hand on his sleeve a poisonous glance before tugging out of his grasp.

"It's not enough, yet," Kevin hedged as they walked away. Andrew thought of every useless schematic and code he'd collected for the Rebellion. How it cluttered in his head like a detonator going off in a bucket.

"It never is, is it?" Andrew challenged him. Mon Mothma and her council, Kevin--the entire Rebellion, they were like every other creature in the galaxy. As long as they could make use of Andrew, they would. He would never see their promises come to fruition without taking matters into his own hands. 

Andrew drummed his fingers noisily on the implant. It made a jarring sound in his skull, but Andrew could ignore it if it meant making Kevin squirm with guilt. He was reminding the other man that someday Andrew would be collecting Kevin's debt, no matter how he dodged it. Whether it was tomorrow, in a year, or when the war ended.

"We need to collect the data you retrieved on Wobani for our report," Kevin broke the silence. Dodging again. 

"It's not going anywhere," Andrew remarked. He stopped and Kevin came to heel without thought. 

Andrew had led them to the canteen. The low hum of voices muted by the tranquilizing effect of night and the occasional clink of dishware trickled out to the hall. Andrew's stomach felt like a sarlacc digesting itself from the inside out. He'd probably been living off some skimpy fluid diet while he'd been out.

"How long this time?" Andrew asked Kevin. He picked his way through rows of tables and benches. Nobody was awake enough to spare him a glance.

"Two weeks," Kevin answered. The thought of being unconscious and exposed so long was a rash in Andrew's mind. He wanted to scratch it to pieces to shut it up. He let out a low whistle to redirect himself.

"And you didn't get yourself killed? The Empire is getting rusty," Andrew said.

"The Empire has been quiet," Kevin replied seriously, "The Rebel Alliance has suspicions that they're conserving their forces for a large scale attack. It might involve their so-called superweapon. As long as they don't know the location of our base they might not make their move, but we can't be sure that they don't have another target."

Kevin was at ease here, safe behind lines and lines of soldiers. Sitting in a war room composing tactics, and treading through the fine webbing of politics. But he wouldn't be satisfied staying entangled in it. He was too obsessed with some dead religion to sit quietly on his hands when he could be hunting down pillaged temples and useless archives. 

"We need to find out more about the Death Star," Kevin said. 

Andrew picked a rehydrated nutrition pack into bite-sized pieces and chugged a filtered glass of water. His jaw was sore as he chewed. 

"You find out more about the Death Star. I'm going to look for a different job," Andrew argued with his mouth full. Kevin's dirty look made Andrew grin, his cheeks bulging with mashed protein supplements. 

"Not funny, Andrew. They could strike at any moment. We need to stay focused here," Kevin ground out.

"Lighten up, _senator_ ," Andrew quipped back. The food was starting to sit like an overgrown bantha in his stomach already. He washed it down with more water and belched.

"We need to act now!" Kevin pushed away from the table. His immature shouting was turning heads. Andrew brushed it off so he could dump his dirty dishes in the collection bin. They fell with a satisfying clatter.

"Andrew--" Andrew tuned Kevin out completely at that exact moment, distantly aware that the other man was talking, but distinctly uninterested in listening.

Kevin trailed behind Andrew thoughtlessly, too caught up in his tirade to pay attention to where they went. Andrew led him back to Eden's Twilight, through the now-empty passenger bay, and to the makeshift brig. Kevin finally stopped talking when Andrew slammed the door shut and locked him in. Kevin banged furiously on the door to be let out and Andrew cackled as he walked back over to the cockpit.

Neil had disappeared from the ship since their conversation. Andrew clicked his tongue at the runaway's inability to follow orders. He'd be back by morning, probably covered in humidity and muck from outside, and sunken into some dire mood.

Andrew sat down in the pilot's seat and fiddled with the controls until the radio crackled to life. It had taken some experimentation to find a frequency that neither the Empire nor the Rebellion had their ears to but Andrew had found one and tuned into it to hail Roland.

"Hey, Minyard. Been a while since I heard from you. You get yourself mixed up in the rebels again?" The radio spat the familiar voice into the cockpit. Andrew leaned back in his seat as the two of them fell into a regular pattern of conversation.

When they wrapped up, Andrew had another job set up and waiting for them in the morning. He'd have to round Nicky and Aaron up from whatever rooms they were sharing with their rebels on base. Aaron was probably skulking around with that woman.

The same few people were still moving around the hangar like moths drifting between lights. The Rebellion was limited in its resources. The Empire, too. If Andrew wanted to get the information he needed he'd have to work through more unconventional methods of communication. 

He didn't sleep that night, letting his mind shift between the implant's obnoxious chatter and his own thoughts. In the morning, Neil drifted up the gangplank like a shadow and sat down in the copilot's seat. That heaviness he carried with him in the air stuck to them like mud. 

Neither of them said a word until Nicky stumbled in with a sulking Aaron in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter! It's mostly set up for the next arc. There might have been some weird typos from using my phone, but I'll try to go back through and weed them out. Thank you for reading!!!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Smuggler's Life For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! Thanks for your patience, guys! Life sometimes hits rough patches, but I'm excited to be back to writing. Hope y'all had nice summers and are ready for fall!

Coruscant was somehow brighter and darker than any planet Neil had been to in recent years. He remembered it vaguely from his childhood--the flashing advertisements and rushing din of air traffic. Mostly, he'd stayed inside his father's palace, or various Imperial buildings and their quiet, clean halls. As the child of Darth Asmenys, Neil had never gone down to Level Five in the underworld, where no natural light reached.   
  
The outdated hover shuttle they were riding in had an unstable lift engine which made the craft wobble slightly in the air. Some seasoned passengers were unaffected by this, while others looked queasy from the unfortunate effects of motion sickness. Neil ignored his own discomfort by focusing on his breaths. Kevin seemed to be doing the same thing next to him by breathing as harshly as humanly possible.

The artificial lighting in the undercity was said to drive the people living there slowly to madness. Neil thought it was more a combination of poverty and spice. He knew for a fact that the Empire had circulated the addictive drug heavily through Coruscant’s underworld themselves to keep the population there from rebelling. It was a popular practice across several core planets. Out on the Rims, all they needed to keep people quiet was heavy labor and constant threat of death.

The shuttle bumped to a stop and people filtered off onto a platform lining a seedy district with outlandish promises spelled out above in neon lights. Each time a passenger exited, the hovercraft shook in the air like it might drop. Kevin gripped Neil's shoulder and glared at the back of an unknowing Chagrian's bluish head. Neil looked to Andrew, who still hadn’t given them the signal to move.

Neil didn't let his impatience disturb the calm he'd settled into, but it was getting harder to fight it. The entire planet was saturated with Darkness, and he was terrified of who--what--stood at the center of it all. He understood Kevin's apprehension; Coruscant was not a place for enemies of the Empire. Even in its darkest corners.

Andrew moved, and Neil's attention snapped to him. He watched Andrew fiddle with a comlink before discarding it under his seat. He squashed it with the heavy sole of his boot and stood. The shuttle was slowing to a stop again, and the others took it as a cue to follow Andrew up. They swayed down the unsteady aisle of the shuttle with a cluster of other passengers.

A scarred Ithorian cursed at Aaron colorfully through their translator when he tripped into them. Neil shot a glance at Aaron, whose impassive response to the exchange gave away none of his thoughts. If Nicky weren't waiting with Eden's for their escape, he'd probably have had more to say than his cousin. Maybe something along the lines of, "This is the stupidest job we've ever pulled," which was where he'd left off when they'd departed for the surface. Neil couldn't disagree.

The air was thick and gritty when they stepped off the shuttle. It could have been residue run-off from one of the many storms that now plagued Coruscant's surface since the Emperor installed his many overlapping shield generators. It could have been sweat, and filth, and spice heavy in Five’s poorly filtered atmosphere. Neil wasn't sure what it was, but it stuck to his skin unpleasantly under his disguise. 

The shuttle took off again in its lumbering way, leaving them stuck on the platform surrounded by citizens of the Empire. Andrew led them smoothly down a dank alleyway. A red light from some sign above them flicked on and off, making the alley flash bloody every few minutes. 

Neil wouldn't have seen the creature if he hadn't sensed it first. It was nearly buried in trash, and could have easily been mistaken for discarded rubbage. It stank like it, too, even through Neil's mask. Andrew put his hand out and they halted behind him, waiting.

"Lendix," Andrew said to the heap of rags. 

The creature shook itself off, sending an unpleasant stench fresh into the air. Neil was surprised to see an elderly human man with matted hair and dirt-encrusted skin rise up from the pile of garbage he had been squatting in. 

"Nice face," Andrew commented. 

Lendix let out a wheezing laugh that threatened to turn him into dust before screwing his eyes up in pain. The expression held as the man's face morphed slowly, flesh moving strangely into a different form. Neil recognized the sunken cheeks of a changeling Clawdite before Lendix finished their transformation. 

"As always, your knack for recognizing faces is uncanny," Lendix said in a nasally voice, "Is it that rig the Empire screwed into your head? Or something else?" Lendix leered at Andrew in a way Neil found distasteful and he stepped forward unthinkingly to intercept it.

The Clawdite's attention shifted to Neil. They took in the insect-like glass eyes of Neil's mask, the grimy cloth pulled down over his face to obscure Neil's features. Lendix inhaled deeply like they might sniff out who Neil was through the dirty air of the Undercity.

"Something to hide? Or some _one?"_ Lendix asked Andrew after their inspection.

"That's information you can't afford," Andrew replied with a flash of teeth.

Lendix shrugged like they'd expected that response.

"We'll see. Speaking of business." Lendix paused to rummage through the grungy folds of cloth hanging over their body. They produced a comlink from the mess and pressed down on it with a knobbly thumb.

A slurred beep at the other end of the alley signaled something activating, and a squat figure shook itself free of some sort of makeshift camouflage. The red sign above flashing on again illuminated an Imperial communication droid wheeling towards them. Neil's hand twitched toward the blaster at his hip, but the condescending reprimand on Andrew’s face at the sudden movement stopped him.

The droid pulled up silently by Lendix who patted it with a clank. It was a waist-high tin can painted black, red, and silver in the colors of the Empire. An empty glass lens peered unnervingly at Neil.   
  
"A repurposed R4 unit," Lendix explained, "Empire uses them as couriers now. Waste of a perfectly good astromech, really. And so easy to lose." Lendix gave them a greasy grin to let them in on the obvious fact that the droid was stolen.

"264 here will get you into the base. The Imperials only programmed these things to answer "yes" or "no" so don't expect to get any extra information out of it. Bit of a simple thing. My supplier picked it up off of Lothal, actually. Said he found it wandering around in the weeds like it had forgotten where to go," Lendix told them. The droid chirped nonsensically back at Lendix.

"See? It's incapable of any sort of intelligent communication," Lendix sneered.

"Enough chatter," Andrew cut in, fingers tapping across his crossed forearms in impatience. He tossed a small pouch at Lendix, who caught it with the telltale clinking of credits clattering together.

"Payment," Andrew said, "And the uniforms?"

Lendix pried the pouch open and counted the credits inside swiftly. Once the payment had been verified, Lendix tucked it somewhere in their tangle of cloth and exchanged it for a keycard. 

"Left down the alley, look for a green sign says, 'Grottil's'. This gets you into a storage locker in the back room. Tell them _you're looking for Zam_. Treat it gently. This isn't some rock on the Outer Rim. You're in the center of the Emperor's web. One misstep, and you'll be killed," Lendix warned. 

"Anything in this line of work gets you killed. Breathing, talking, taking a shit," Aaron snapped from where he stood behind Andrew.

"True enough." Lendix handed the keycard to Andrew. Their face twisted up again in concentration and the decrepit old man stole again over their features again.

"Send Roland my regards," Lendix requested, offhand. Then, they hunkered down back into their garbage. Even though Neil knew Lendix was there, he could barely see them once they'd settled in.

"Send them yourself," Andrew replied. He flicked the keycard through his fingers flashily and gave Lendix one last show of teeth as they parted ways.

They took the left down the alley and found Grottil's easily. It was like every other establishment in the business district of Level Five. The only business they really dealt in was illegal. A bright green sign hung over the door.

Andrew passed Lendix's code on to the Gamorrean guarding the door and he let them in with a belly-deep grunt. No heads turned at their entrance, but everyone was watching them. Neil could read it in their body language, the purposeful nonchalance Grottil’s patrons regarded the newcomers with. Andrew ignored them all and whistled obnoxiously as he maneuvered to the back room.

"Nice droid you got there. Willing to trade it in for a happy sum?" A wheezing voice called to them. A wizened man stood and limped over to them. The prosthetic limb that replaced what was once a left leg looked like it would better fit a child and made him stand with a slump.  
  
"The droid's not for sale," Kevin said irritably. He tried to push past the man but was stopped by a blaster digging into his side.

"Are you sure?" The man pressed. Kevin looked to Andrew who cocked his head to one side as if actually deliberating. Neil knew better as he watched Andrew’s fingers sneaking into his gauntlets for the knives he kept hidden there.

Andrew had just opened his mouth to respond when a sharp  _zap!_ interrupted him. The man threatening Kevin jumped about a foot in the air with a shout. His blaster slipped from his grip and clunked to the sticky floor.

264 stood behind the man with an electroshock prod sparking blue from its body. It stabbed again at the man who yelped and stumbled back. Neil lowered it an impressed look.

"Looks like you're more intelligent than Lendix let on," he appraised. 

 _Yes,_ the droid beeped. Neil let out a huff of laughter, accompanied by Andrew's much louder guffaws, and patted the droid in approval. He hadn't liked the Clawdite very much. 

"What are you still doing here?" Andrew asked the man, who was rubbing the tender spot where he'd been shocked and scowling at 264, "Shoo."

When the man made no move to leave, Andrew repeated himself, "Shoo." He punctuated the dismissal with a knife suddenly pressed to the lowlife's throat. The man's eyes widened and he backpedaled on his uneven legs, hands up.

"Not for sale, got it," he said.

"Good," Andrew replied with an unconvincing smile. He slid the knife back into its sheathe on his gauntlet and turned away like the man never existed. Kevin dusted his side off disdainfully where the muzzle of the criminal's blaster had just been seconds ago.

Heads had turned overtly to watch the interaction play out, and Andrew snapped his teeth at them like a mad Wampa. Wanting nothing to do with anyone that stuck out down here, people went back about their business without a word to him.

The locker in the back room’s number was printed over the keycard that Lendix had given them. As the door clicked open, it revealed a set of genuine Imperial uniforms stuffed inside like an unassuming coatrack. Neil was impressed that Lendix had found uniforms small enough to fit Andrew and Aaron. Andrew dragged each uniform out and distributed it with a cacophony of cloth rustling. 

Neil and Andrew both had the ominous black attire of TIE-fighter pilots with matching helmets to disguise them. Kevin got the stark white armor of a stormtrooper and his own helmet, which he stared at with a pale face.

Aaron was the only one whose face would be exposed in his plain low-ranking officer's uniform. Once he tugged the hat that came with it low over his forehead (like most other officers did), his pale skin and common features would conceal him among thousands of other nondescript officers. The lack of a tampered biocybernetic implant didn't hurt his chances of blending in.

If they changed now, they'd immediately stick out in the undercity. Spies of the Empire would report two rogue pilots, a trooper, and an Imperial officer roaming around Level Five. Although politicians weren't above traveling down here for their more unsavory hobbies, the cogs that made up the Empire's military force would never stray from their place. And the extensive surveillance network of the upper levels on Coruscant would make it difficult to don their disguises there.   
  
Luckily, Andrew understood Coruscant's underbelly like he'd been one of its architects. Neil knew that familiarity probably came from a combination of maps stored in his implant, and from his own development into a smuggler in Coruscant's bowels. He knew how to slip through the cracks and come out the other end with no one the wiser.

They bundled their stolen uniforms into the packs on their backs, threw a cloak over 264 like it might be a short creature, and snuck out through Grottil's back door. Passage between underworld and Coruscant’s surface levels meant boarding one of the many airships that used Coruscant's ventilation portals to transport--or smuggle--goods and people to the surface. Andrew and his crew boarded one of these aircrafts, stuffed in with crates of other smuggled goods.

They changed quickly in the relative privacy of the craft’s cargo bay. Neil discarded his other disguise eagerly, savoring air that wasn’t filtered through a scummy mask.

264 chirped and beeped meaninglessly through their journey like it was attempting to make small talk. Neil tried to make sense of its chatter but couldn’t recognize any pattern of droid dialect. At one point, it approached Kevin specifically, and he humored it by nodding along like he could understand what it was communicating to him.

When they reached their destination, their pilot let them out into an abandoned loading bay that had been torn apart by an explosion long ago. She pretended not to be unsettled by their new Imperial outfits, but Neil noticed she couldn’t look directly at any of them. She shut her ship up after they’d disembarked without a backward glance at any of them.

Andrew was the only one of them who’d kept his helmet off. His eyes were darting between walls like a stray blaster shot rebounding. When they’d taken in what he’d been looking for, he pulled up the holodisplay of their pathway through Coruscant on his gauntlet. The walkways closer to any military base on Coruscant were rarely populated, except for the occasional probe droid puttering around. 

Neil could still feel the Dark Side drawing him in as they followed Andrew to the base. It was like standing in an unsealing airlock. Even Andrew was caught in it. Despite his implant’s forced cheer, his mood had plateaued into silence. Neil knew that the further they went now, the stronger the pull of the Dark Side. He didn’t ask himself again why he’d come to Coruscant. He was already here; he had come to see this through.

The Imperial City Naval Base, as Neil remembered it, was a massive structure of moving parts and noise. Stormtroopers marched in perfect lines to their transports--the stomping of their beating a constant tempo through the hangars. The whine of TIE’s closing in on the landing strips became a dull droning at the back of one’s mind. Giant Star Destroyers docked for repairs or modification loomed like sleeping monsters while people worked around their metal bodies.

Andrew brought them to a sheer wall with wearing black paint and a door sealed tightly closed cut into it. He pulled out the set of picks Neil had grown used to seeing him use. 264 cut around Andrew before he could get to the lock-pad and input a swift series of codes itself. The door hissed open. Andrew raised an eyebrow at the droid.

"Losing your touch to a droid, Andrew?" Neil couldn't help but jab at his captain. 264 spit out some beeps and whirred. 

"Planning your untimely death," Andrew replied, tucking his tools away.

The hangar they stepped into was not the same as Neil remembered. Everything was muted, almost empty. It was as if the tide had drawn out, taking the Imperial Fleet with it. Something was happening—preparations for an attack, reinforcements sent out for battle, or even, absurdly, the abandonment of this base. Maybe the Rebels were giving the Empire more trouble than Neil knew. 

Andrew seemed to sense the wrongness in the air as Neil did, and moved forward with caution. His hands flickered through some simple signals which told them to proceed forward as planned. Aaron stepped in front of them, pulling out a dummy datapad to pretend to type on as they walked, and Kevin stepped back to the rear.

This was it, a week of planning coming to a head on a job that made as much sense as it threw out. Andrew and his crew were smugglers, despite the fancy associations they'd made in the Rebellion. And that meant high risk for good pay. Neil was still getting used to it.

"Officer, what are you doing outside of your sector?" A prim voice addressed Aaron. An officer of the same rank Aaron was imitating intercepted them and lifted her chin ridiculously to assert her authority.

"I'm escorting this droid to Command," Aaron deadpanned in a perfect mimicry of an Imperial officer.

"And why do you need two TIE pilots and a stormtrooper to accompany you?" The officer interrogated.

"They were the ones who found the droid off-course and brought it to my attention. They have information pertinent to the intel this droid is carrying." Aaron finished his lie with a sniff like the other officer had some nerve to even ask.  
  
"And what information might that be?"  
  
"I'm afraid that is above your clearance level. If you're finished, I'd like to get this to Command quickly."

The officer sniffed back at Aaron for his rudeness. Neil heard Andrew choke off a laugh at the stupidity of it. "Are you completely unaware of the demonstration being held today? Command is quite busy preparing for it. I'm sure whatever intel you're bringing in will be an unwelcome distraction. You should report to your Commanding Officer and return to your station."

"Command will be the judge of that. Shouldn't you be reporting to _your_ Commanding Officer? They won't be pleased _you've_ strayed from your station right before such an important demonstration. If you'll excuse me," Aaron brushed the officer off and stepped forward purposefully, keeping his arms and legs stiff in true military form.  
  
Once they were out of sight of any Imperial personnel, Aaron's posture relaxed again. "Let's get the formula and get the pfassk out of here."   
  
Andrew took his place ahead of them again. "Bucketheads must all be at that demonstration," he observed, "Let's make sure to play while the Empire's away."

Andrew was right, nobody was roaming the halls of the base to stop them. They broke into a light jog, their boots clunking loudly with each footfall. Whatever was happening to keep the troopers and their officers busy wouldn't last long.

The intel they were looking for was stored in Engineering. Andrew had shown them the map of the sector earlier, and Neil recognized the route they were taking to the Advanced Weaponry Research Center. All Andrew had to do was access the AWRC database and pull the information they needed from it. 

264 cleared their path, opening doors and giving the affirmative that no enemies were in sight. Viewscreens that occasionally popped up on walls lining their way displayed several high-ranking officers standing around the bridge of a Star Destroyer.

Andrew's crew startled a scientist just stepping out of a room. As soon as he saw her, Andrew snapped, "Neil," and Neil reached out lightning-quick with the Force to knock her out. More personnel appeared as they ran and Neil did the same with them, not willing to waste the time it would take to deceive them into letting Andrew and his crew pass.

The AWRC was quiet in its own way when they reached it. Heavily sound-proofed walls and white noise coming from various machines cushioned the large room in pseudo-silence. A handful of officers turned in surprise as the racket Andrew made bursting into the room broke that silence apart. None had the reflexes to stop him from laying them out with rapid shots of his blaster.

"Aaron, door," Andrew ordered, his helmet now under one arm. Aaron took up watch at the door. Andrew tugged his right glove off with his teeth as he approached the console lining the inner wall of the room.

"Droid," Andrew said next, naked palm up in demand. 264 wheeled up to him and carefully ejected the datacard Lendix had given it earlier. Andrew slid it into a slot on the console and unwound the wire that would connect his implant to the AWRC's database. Neil didn't let the uncomfortable memory of Andrew's last time under the implant's influence take root. Apprehension was the predecessor to fear, and fear was a weakness easily exploited.

A bright holoscreen took up a large portion of the wall above the console, and the washed-out image of Grand Moff Tarkin dictating something pompously consumed it. Neil only gave it a momentary look before focusing back on Andrew. He'd need to watch closely for Andrew's sign to pull the plug.  
  
"It's Alderaan," Kevin remarked, nonplussed. Neil turned to him and saw Kevin was still staring at the holoscreen, his stormtrooper helmet pulled off. The image of Alderaan shone across it inexplicably, a round marble of vibrant blues and greens and whites. Tarkin returned to the screen a moment later, eyes glinting in a familiar expression of the power-hungry.

Andrew's face was still blank--he might have found the intel they'd been asked to acquire already and moved on to the advanced Star Destroyer schematics. Neil hoped Andrew found what they needed soon. The sense of dread that had been looming over Neil all day was closing in on him. So far their plan had gone perfectly--maybe even better than expected--and Neil didn't want that to change. He glanced back up at the screen and saw Alderaan was being displayed again. He wondered why the Empire was so focused on it--

A sudden explosion slashed across the display. The entire planet of Alderaan splintered into a colorful flare and disintegrated. Neil felt a sharp tug in his gut through the Force and he stumbled to his knees. Now, nothing was left on the screen except a blank canvas of stars. An entire planet. Gone. This was the demonstration that the Imperial officer had mentioned earlier.

Neil felt Alderaan's absence like something had been cut out of him. He was deafened by the silencing of millions of voices in the Force and he couldn't breathe.  
  
"No," Kevin gasped in horror. Aaron cursed. Kevin reached out like he needed something to keep him up. "No, no that's impossible. Andrew--Andrew--"

The Grand Moff was back onscreen celebrating the death of an entire people--a planet. Neil had never witnessed the use of such destructive power, not even by his father's hands. Neil got to his feet unsteadily and pulled the wire from Andrew's implant.   
  
"We've got to go now," Neil breathed shakily. Andrew's expression was knowing. He looked up at Tarkin with dead eyes.  
  
"The Death Star," Andrew said, "The Planet Killer. It's fully operational."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it was about time for a droid to join the party. I know this chapter was mostly exposition, but rest assured the next chapter will be fairly action-packed!
> 
> Let me know what you guys think of seedy deals and criminal activity! Hope you liked the chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Someone has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, flyboy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your comments--it's you guys that keep me writing even when it's harder to get the chance <3\. I'm sorry it took a while to respond, and I want you all to know how much I appreciating hearing from you! Thanks for sticking around for this fic! I promise to keep moving it forward (although there will be times publishing chapters gets slow). I haven't been on Tumblr in a while, but will probably be popping in soon to check in on you guys. Please let me know how y'all are doing on there <3\. ^_^
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains a scene with sexual assault. The assault is not graphically described, but may still be disturbing. If you would like to skip this scene, it's in the italicized portion of this chapter and I've marked it off with asterisks. (Specifically: ***CW*** at both the beginning and end)

Kevin couldn't walk on his own. He slumped in a daze onto Andrew, who half-carried him without showing signs of strain. Neil could sense Kevin's despair--a heaviness that solidified the chill surrounding Coruscant. He wondered if that heaviness carried over to Andrew's shoulder, bracing Kevin from crumpling under it himself.

Aaron had ditched the fake datapad he'd been carrying earlier and walked with his blaster out ahead of him. Neil didn't tell him it would be easier to escape if nobody noticed they didn't belong. After what they'd witnessed broadcast publicly on the viewscreen, Neil was too on edge to do more than grip his own blasters ready in their holsters.

They'd almost made it to the hangar when Neil recognized the sound of stormtrooper boots marching in time down a nearby hallway. He saw Aaron's shoulders tense, and only barely yanked Aaron's arm down in time before he could charge out, blasters blazing.

"We need another way out," Neil hissed at Andrew, squeezing Aaron's arm in warning. There was no way they were sneaking through nearly all of the military personnel stationed on Coruscant right now, even in disguise. Both Kevin and Aaron would give them away easily.

Andrew's attention fell to a grate bolted over a vent lining the wall where it met the floor. Neil caught his line of thinking and let out a short laugh of disbelief. That vent, Neil knew, connected to one of the base's many waste chutes.

“Kevin’s not fitting through there," Neil pointed out. Andrew was already working at the grate covering the chute to pry it off. 

"He'll fit," Andrew promised viciously. He adjusted his grip and yanked the grate off with a screech of metal. They all tensed, waiting to see if the racket had exposed them. A moment--then, "Highest-bounty first." Neil gave Andrew an unimpressed look at the comment. Of course Andrew knew all of the prices on their heads.

Neil groaned, remembering his own run-in years ago with the waste disposal on a Star Destroyer. There had to be a limit to the number of times a person was forced into a garbage chute.

Impatient, Andrew poked Neil between the shoulders with the tip of his blaster. "Any day now."

Neil huffed an exasperated sigh through his nostrils and swung his feet into the grate. He spared Andrew a poisonous glare that his TIE pilot helmet shielded before pushing off. His stomach dropped as he slid down the chute, arms crossed over his chest to protect himself.

The rank smell hit Neil first. Even with the air filtration system in the helmet, it was strong enough to make Neil choke. The garbage hit second, and Neil had only enough time to brace himself as dirty water splashed up around him.

The thudding of another body coming down the chute gave Neil warning so he could jolt out of the way and throw his hands up, catching whomever with the Force as they fell. It was Aaron, cursing at the stench, and Neil was almost tempted to let him fall gracelessly into the muck. His sympathy over the fact that Aaron didn't even have a mask to dilute the smell convinced him to lower the sputtering man slowly into the water instead. By the time Neil caught Kevin and Andrew, he was nearly used to the awful stink around them. 

They all took a second to catalog the compactor they'd fallen into. Debris from all over the base was piled up around them. What Neil could only assume was sewage-water sloshed around their waists, and gave off the worst of the stench. Neil didn't examine that too closely, and opted to breathe through his mouth.

"Well?" Aaron prompted, "How the pfassk are we getting out of this shithole?"

The remark was a little too on the nose. It was ignored by everyone.

"Droid," Andrew ordered over the comm, "Unseal the maintenance doors to all trash compactors in--"

Andrew jerked suddenly, his blaster whipping out to aim at the murky water beside him. Neil and Aaron responded at the same time, "Andrew what--" "Don't shoot that thing in--"

Andrew's blaster shot went wide as something yanked him down under the water. Kevin, who'd been leaning on Andrew again, toppled gracelessly after him with a bodily splash. 

"Shit--" The blaster bolt was rebounding off the magnetically reinforced walls of the compactor and it was mayhem as Neil and Aaron did their best to dodge it. Andrew was thrashing around in the water, wrestling something unknown. Kevin was vomiting whatever he'd swallowed from his brief trip into the sewage.

Finally, having had enough of splashing around in dirty water, Neil gave a frustrated shout and caught the bolt with sheer willpower and the Force. It hummed in the air as if indignant over being seized. Neil strained against its momentum, muscles quivering, before thrusting the bolt down at a pile of debris. It tumbled with a cacophony of crashing. 

Andrew was still struggling against what Neil could now see was a purplish tentacle wrapped tightly around him. Neil could sense the creature, something primitive, and reached out to crush it.

He didn't need to. Suddenly, it released Andrew and darted back through the water with surprising swiftness. Neil's hand was still outstretched.  Andrew's helmet had been ripped off, leaving him gasping as he tried to pull air back into his lungs. Neil stared at him, bewildered.

"What did you do to it?" Neil asked him. Andrew's usual giddiness peaked with the adrenaline of almost having drowned.

"Nothing," Andrew answered infuriatingly. 

"Nothing," Neil echoed. His hand dropped. "So even creatures that live in actual garbage can't stand you."

"I'm an acquired taste," Andrew said. 

"I don't think anyone's ever acquired a taste for you."

Andrew's grin was wide enough it made him look deranged. "Nobody living," he replied.

"If you're finished, we've got a bigger problem," Aaron interrupted. He was running a hand along the edge of the maintenance door embedded in the far wall of the compactor. It didn't open and he turned to them with a flat expression. "I'd like to get out of this sarlacc pit before I die of either septic poisoning or old age, and the door's still locked."

Andrew pulled himself through the water, fingers fiddling with the comm in his gauntlet. The TIE pilot helmet was lost from his bout with the trash creature, and it was taking some time for him to contact 264 again. Before he could, an ominous grinding sound echoed around them.

Kevin spoke for the first time since seeing Alderaan destroyed. His face was pale and sweaty from throwing up, his helmet discarded somewhere in Engineering. "What is that?" he rasped. The grinding grew louder, and Neil realized it was the walls of the compactor closing in on them.

Aaron's wide eyes told Neil he'd come to the same realization. "Andrew!" he hissed, "Hurry!"

Neil grabbed Kevin and dragged him through the garbage to the door. Andrew was still messing around with his gauntlet. Something was wrong with his comm. Neil desperately tried his own.

"264, come in. Come in, 264," Neil said over the line. No response. The signal was weak in the garbage compactor. He swore.

An unbearable screeching of metal warned them that their time was limited. The grinding had now grown to an overbearing rumbling. Some mechanism pushing the walls closer together whined pitifully. 

"264, do you read me!" Neil shouted desperately. He spotted a large metal pole--a discarded piece of framework for some machine--and rushed to it, still hailing their droid.

"Help me with this!" Neil ordered Aaron. For once, Aaron didn't argue. The two of them lifted the pole up between the two walls closing in on them to stall for time. 

"Andrew, get that door!" Neil grit out, pulling up another piece of scrap metal.  The first one creaked before snapping, and Aaron had to dodge the large chunk that fell towards him.

Neil gave up on using more debris to keep the compactor from crushing them and pushed out on both sides with the Force. It felt like he was physically holding the walls apart with his arms. A shout of pain escaped him before he could cut it off. His bones were going to break. His arms would crumple, and his body would be crushed. He shouted again, this time in defiance.

"Droid, the maintenance doors to the compactors in Sector 7!" Andrew had to yell over the noise of the compactor struggling against the Force.

"Hurry," Neil strained to say. He was sweating through the TIE pilot uniform. Aaron was still trying to prop trash up between the walls with Kevin's help.

Even over the noise, Neil heard it. The merciful hiss of the magnetic lock on the maintenance door releasing. "Go!" he roared.

Andrew hauled Kevin to the door, Aaron close on their heels. Neil eased back, struggling to keep his hold on the compactor. His whole body shook violently with the effort. A hand fisted in the back of his uniform and yanked him out through the door just in time as Neil lost his grip on the compactor walls. They crashed together from the released tension with an ear-splitting bang.

Andrew let Neil go, wiping his hand on the filthy leg of his pants with a pointed look. Neil rolled his eyes. He was breathing too heavily to speak. Andrew's eyes were bright and feral, like he might do something reckless. Part of Neil wanted to see what a wild Andrew set loose on Coruscant might do. Another, stronger, part of him would rather survive.

The moment passed as their fading adrenaline rush drained rapidly. Andrew gave 264 the order to head toward the backup rendezvous point, where Nicky knew to meet them in Eden's Twilight.

It was a smelly, tense jog back to the ship.

Eden's Twilight was a sight for sore eyes as they staggered, exhausted, towards it. It had taken a lot of maneuvering to avoid all the patrolling troopers and probe droids cluttering their path away from the base. This abandoned loading bay that made their alternate rendezvous point had scuff marks littered across the ground indicating it was a popular landing spot for smugglers and pirates. No other ship was there now.

Eden's had been disguised for this job--a rough gray paint job and some cosmetic hunks of metal slapped on--so Neil didn't notice at first that something was wrong. Andrew did. 

"Oh, Nicky," he breathed. Neil heard the mocking tone in his voice, that it was shallow. He saw the tight line of tension in Andrew's shoulders. That was when he noticed. Everything was dark. Too quiet. 264 was nowhere in sight.

"Your call," He said to Andrew quietly.

There was a pause, then Andrew signaled to move forward.

They did it carefully, blasters drawn. Like they were approaching a sleeping wampa. The gangplank hissed down to let them in, but Nicky wasn't there to greet them. It was a trap. It was a trap, and they were springing it excruciatingly slowly. Every instinct told Neil to flee.  
  
The lights in the passenger bay were down when they reached it. There was a heaviness in the air that made Neil realize they weren't alone.  
  
"Senator," someone said from the shadows. It was ice. It was a familiar whisper in his own mind.  _Darkness._

"Riko," Kevin choked out in disbelief.

"Where's Nicky?" Andrew cut in. His posture was easy, like he'd almost expected this turn of events. Only the readiness of his trigger finger on his blaster said otherwise.

Riko's lightsaber ignited, casting them all in violent red light. There was another man standing behind him. He mimicked Riko in posture, dress, even the cold expression on his face. So this was the partner. Inquisitors always worked in pairs. Except this Inquisitor was more a shadow than his own man.

Riko kicked something on the floor at his feet. Neil saw it was Nicky, sprawled out like he'd been tossed down there carelessly. 

"He's alive," Riko said. He kicked Nicky again, roughly. "For now."

Andrew's eyes slid up from Nicky's prone body slowly. In the bloody light, the garish smile on his face promised pain. 

"How--how did you find us?" Kevin said faintly.

"I will always find you, Kevin. You cannot hide behind these men." Riko stepped over Nicky and stalked towards them.

"Did you think I wouldn't recognize this ship arriving on Coruscant? You dared to defy me--to flee from your fate in this?” He gestured around himself. "You came to the Emperor's doorstep and expected to flee from it again. Your stupidity is astounding."

Neil and Andrew both stepped forward to put Kevin behind them. Riko laughed at the display. His fingers flexed on his lightsaber.

"I'm going to kill these men, Senator. I'll make it as painful as I know how. And you will watch them begging for it to end. Cursing your name for bringing them such agony. You will be their undoing, just as you were for Alderaan."

Andrew shot before another word could be said. Riko brought one blade of his lightsaber down swiftly to deflect the bolt.

"By all means," Andrew sneered, “Don’t let me interrupt.” He shot again.

"Jean, take care of this one," Riko ordered dismissively. The other man moved fluidly to intercept Andrew's next bolt. His own lightsaber had ignited and was now spinning on its wheel. 

Riko spoke to Neil as they circled each other. "I've studied, endlessly, to hunt down and eliminate the last of the Jedi. I've trained tirelessly with one purpose. To destroy their dying order. This weapon was forged to kill all who challenge me--but it was not made to predict for something like you."

Whether Riko referred to himself, or the double-ended lightsaber preferred by the Inquisitorius, Neil could not distinguish.

"Something stronger?" Neil asked. Despite his words, Neil knew the odds weren't in his favor: he didn't have his own lightsaber to counter Riko, and blasters were a disadvantage in such a confined space with his allies around him. 

Riko gave Neil a pitying look that dripped with insincerity. "A failure," he answered.

"Last time we fought, I crushed you like the gelagrub you are," Neil reminded him. Riko ignored the comment.

"You are not a Jedi—you were meant to be so much more. And I was not trained to fight the seedling of the Sith. Your failure to reach your full potential is a flaw in the Empire's system. A fluke that will be crushed in its might, as all insurrection will be. I've analyzed our last duel--I've studied your form, your missteps. I was not trained to fight you then. I am now." 

Riko lunged forward, blade swinging viciously, and Neil backpedaled to avoid it. He almost plowed Kevin over, and had to force him aside.

”Take cover!” Neil ordered him. He dodged another slash of Riko’s lightsaber. 

"Accept your loss before it becomes painful for you," Riko said. He spun the lightsaber and curved his arm so it lashed out at Neil.

"Accept yours before it becomes  _fatal_ ," Neil mocked as he sidestepped the red blade of the saber. 

Neil needed to get inside Riko's guard. To disarm him like he'd done in their last battle. He could feel the Force stirring around him, chaotic in the grip of three adept users. Riko's technique was definitely sharper now. His defenses were tight, and each time Neil maneuvered to manipulate an opening, Riko was there with the lightsaber to close him off. He'd felt the heat of the blade come too close too many times.

Riko could sense Neil's frustration. "You've become weaker."

Riko's strikes became slower, indulgent. "You're losing your grip on the Darkness."

Neil stumbled as Riko whipped the lightsaber in a rapid form that singed the front of Neil's TIE pilot uniform. "Or has it lost its grip on you? Like it did your mother. She was too weak to be one with the Dark Side."

Neil lunged at Riko, a hot spike of anger choking him, and jerked still as Riko dropped his lightsaber and caught Neil in the Force. Neil strained against the hold, hands clawing at the air like he could tear the air between them apart with his fingernails. Riko drew his hand in, drawing Neil in as well. It felt like he'd been caught in the trash compactor, his body being crushed slowly.

" _Your father will be so disappointed,"_ Riko said in the Old Tongue. Neil wanted to burn the cold smile off his face. He struggled to fill his lungs with air.

Then, Riko's body jolted violently and his hold on Neil vanished. Neil fell to his knees and heard laughter. Andrew had shot Riko in the back. 

 "Jean!" Riko spat furiously. He must have anticipated the shot just in time to stop it from killing him. "I told you to  _handle him_."

"You're going to regret that," Jean said quietly to Andrew.

"Really don't think I will," Andrew replied, blaster still aimed at Riko.

"Enough! If you can't deal with the pirate scum, I will. Hold him down," Riko ordered.

Neil leapt to his feet to intervene but Riko had his lightsaber ignited in a heartbeat to block him. He caught Neil with a backward slash that cut into his shoulder. The smell of burned flesh filled the cabin as Neil cried out. Pain made spots flash across his eyes. Neil had to bite his lip and breathe through his nostrils to stop himself from passing out.

When his vision fully cleared, Jean had Andrew pinned to the ground while Riko shoved something into the dataport of Andrew's cybernetic implant. Andrew's body was shaking with effort to break free of Jean's grasp. Riko planted both hands on either side of Andrew's head to force their eyes to meet. 

"I'm going to make you remember whose property you are," Riko swore to him.

Andrew's eyes rolled back into his head. Without knowing what he meant to do, Neil threw a hand out, reaching with the Force.

_The shades were drawn. Light lined their cracks like it might be daytime outside, but Neil couldn't be sure. The room looked familiar, in a way. It was a popular style in the homes on Coruscant. Minimalist, white furniture. Clean edges. Uniformity. The Empire's citizens didn't stray too far from the mold, not here._

_A boy stood in the middle of the room like he was waiting for something. Neil recognized the shape of a cybernetic implant wrapped around the back of his head._

_***CW***_

_"AJ," A voice said from the doorway. It was deeper, like a young man just coming of age._

_A younger Andrew turned around, and so did Neil's perspective--like the swiveling seat in Eden's gunner bay. It left Neil dizzy. The man standing in the doorway looked disproportionately tall. Like space had warped around him to make him larger. On his face was a vulgar mockery of affection. His features were distorted, eyes too bright._

_Neil recognized the sensation of seeing a Force vision. But something seemed different from the visions he'd had before. Like it was a dream. No, he realized, a memory._

_"Drake," Andrew's voice responded from out of sight. His tone was so flat, it was strange for Neil to hear it. Like someone had taken Andrew's manic energy and wrung it out._

_"No need to be so tense." Drake moved closer, a hand reaching out for Neil's face. Revulsion rose up swiftly in Neil's gut and he jerked his head away._

_The brightness in Drake's eyes went out, and his face immediately darkened. His mouth twisted down. "They told me they'd fixed you. Is there some sort of command I need to know? Come here."_

_Neil didn't move._

_"I said_ come. Here."

_Drake yanked Neil's shirt forward and Andrew was pulled through him. Neil felt his sense of balance tip and he fell. He watched from the floor as Drake ran his fingers over Andrew's implant. Drake popped a panel loose and yanked a wire out with a snap. The room grew hazy._

_"Thought so," Drake said, clicking his tongue, "I'll make sure they don't put that modulator back next time. You'll be better."_

_Andrew was quivering under Drake's hand. "See?"_

_Andrew was quivering with laughter. Neil couldn't see his face from where he was stuck to the floor. He really didn't want to._

_"I'm sorry it was rough last time," Drake crooned, running his hands up and down Andrew's shaking arms, "I didn't think it would break you. If you hadn't fought me so hard, it wouldn't have hurt you so much. Be good this time, and it won't hurt."_

_Drake leaned down into Andrew's neck and inhaled. The sound was sharp. Neil flinched._

_Hysteria rose in Neil's chest. It was unpleasant; he wanted to carve the feeling out, or throw up. He felt someone else's hand slide down his chest. Low, low, low. Neil screwed his eyes shut, wanting the vision to end._

_"Good boy," Drake whispered in his ear._

_***CW***_

Neil didn't come back to Eden's Twilight first. His eyes opened, and he saw nothing. It was a relief--a lack of pressure, a lack of sensation. This was a part of himself that existed under everything else.

When he did come back, it made his rage more intense than he'd felt it before. A sudden exposure that burned him raw. Riko's body was still curved over Andrew's, and for a second, Neil could only see Drake. 

" _Get off of him,_ " Neil seethed. The Old Tongue came out reflexively. 

Riko and Jean turned to him. It took Riko a moment to absorb his shock. " _There you are,"_ He returned in the same language, " _Now it is a fight._ "

" _You worm_ _,"_ Neil said, " _This is_ _a slaughter._ "

Riko's eyes flitted over Neil's shoulder, and Neil turned to see Kevin cowering behind him. Neil shifted so Riko was forced to look back at him.

" _Don't worry_ _, you won't have the chance to get to him,_ " Neil promised.

"Neil, your eyes." Neil barely heard Kevin's fearful whisper. He didn't acknowledge it.

" _You are outnumbered. And outskilled_ ," Riko taunted. He twirled his lightsaber with a tricky twist of his wrist. Jean fanned out from Riko so he flanked Neil.

Neil closed his eyes. That void inside himself was rising up. It was a hollowness that whispered just outside his hearing. He tilted his head. A truth spoke to him from the Darkness. Neil forgot who he was. Forgot Eden's Twilight. The Empire. The Rebellion. All he could sense were weak insects waiting to be crushed. Was flesh that begged to burn. Abram opened his eyes.

" _Outnumbered? All I see before me is two dead men_." 

Jean came at him first, jabbing with a short thrust of one end of his lightsaber, then swinging the other up in a longer stroke. Abram twisted, light on his feet, and grabbed Jean's wrist. He yanked the other man forward, and brought his other fist up sharply under Jean's elbow, dislocating it. Jean's howl of pain fell sweetly on Abram's ears.

Abram didn't even bother taking the lightsaber for himself. He felt for its kyber crystal and ripped it out of the inferior casing of its weapon with the Force. The glowing crystal hung in the air between Abram and Riko. 

" _This is wasted on men such as you,_ " Abram sighed. Riko paced around Abram, searching for an opening and a chance to strike. Abram waited for him to make that mistake.

" _You don't understand the weapon you're wielding. The power it holds. This, at the very heart of every lightsaber,"_ Abram pulled the crystal to himself. 

Riko shifted. Halted. Paced. His lightsaber spun restlessly. Abram could feel every charged molecule hum around its blades. 

" _If you listen, you can hear the kyber crystal responding to the Force. Listen,"_ Abram said.

Screaming. Like hundreds of lives being lost. It reminded Abram of his lessons with his father. He dropped the crystal.

Riko took his chance, feet moving surely. He feinted at Abram's lower right, then deftly swapped hands and sliced at Abram's injured shoulder instead. A mistake.

Abram let Riko's momentum work against him, let it make his next step clumsy. He was inside Riko's guard and gone before Riko even realized his lightsaber had been turned against him. There was a stunned moment of complete silence as Riko's severed arm thudded to the floor. Then, screaming. This time, just one man.

"What have you done _?_ " Jean asked in horror. He held his injured arm protectively to his chest.

Abram adjusted the lightsaber in his hand coolly. " _I'm going to kill you both. Your deaths will be so painful, you won't even realize when it ends."_

 _"_ Neil!" Someone interrupted. Abram brushed it off. Riko was curled up around the smoking stump of his arm pitifully. Abram advanced on him.

"Neil!" They repeated, urgently. A hand yanked at Abram's arm, and he looked down at it in surprise.

"It's Andrew. Whatever they did to him--something's happening," Aaron said.

Abram looked over at the man with the cybernetic implant lying prone on the ground. He was convulsing violently, the implant clattering off the metal flooring as he shook. 

" _What did you do to him?_ " Abram demanded. He rounded on Jean, who held a blaster to his face.

_bang!_

Abram barely dodged, bringing the lightsaber up to deflect it. Jean shot again, his injured arm now hanging uselessly as he aimed. Abram deflected that bolt as well, and heard it crash into something on the ship.

"Neil, we need to get him out of here!" Aaron shouted. 

Abram's hold on the Darkness was slipping. He was distracted. Jean rushed him and Abram braced for the attack, but it was Riko who took him by surprise. The lightsaber was yanked from Abram's hold and deactivated. In a blur, Jean had Riko, and Riko had the lightsaber, and both of them were making for the gangplank. 

"No!" Abram roared. He moved to stop them, but Aaron blocked him.

"We need to get Andrew help. Now!" Aaron yelled.

Abram wanted to remind Aaron he could kill him instantly. He almost snapped every finger Aaron had, but a low moan of pain coming from Andrew stopped him. Neil slowly came back to himself as he took in the scene around him.

Blackened scorch marks marred the passenger bay walls. Neil could see Nicky was still unconscious on the floor in the emergency lighting. Kevin hovered over Andrew as he seized, unsure what to do. Neil felt all his anger drain swiftly, and he stumbled under the sudden weariness. Blankness overtook his memory of the fight. He felt like he'd lost a part of himself to the Darkness.

Aaron was in the cockpit already, priming the ship for take-off. Neil dropped to the floor next to Andrew, unable to stand any longer. With immense effort, Neil managed to get Andrew on his side as he convulsed. Kevin knelt nearby, muttering something panicked over and over to himself.

Aaron put as many parsecs between them and Coruscant as he could, but Neil could still feel the Emperor's oppressive chill looming over him in the Force. Neil had no idea what they were going to do from here. Where they were supposed to go next. He wondered if even Aaron did, as he navigated them across the galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd throw in a classic Star Wars scene before dropping the angst. 
> 
> Lost Limb Count : 1
> 
> TL;DR for anyone who skipped the scene with the Content Warning: Neil is drawn into Andrew's memory through a Force Vision and finds out about Drake sexually assaulting Andrew.
> 
> I know we're almost closer to the Han Solo movie, but if you got the chance to see The Last Jedi, let me know what you thought (no spoilers)! And let me know what you thought of this chapter! Hope you enjoyed!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truths and Trades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! Hope those of you who celebrated Easter had a nice holiday, and that everyone avoided any particularly heinous pranks on April Fools Day. Thank you all for reading this fic and for all of your comments! I appreciate them so much. <3
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: There are references to sexual assault and abuse embedded in the italicized portion at the beginning of this chapter. There is also mention of drug use and addiction. Please, look after your well-being and skip over the italicized section if you think these scenes could be harmful to your mental health. I'll mark the CW end with a triple asterisk ***; there is an italicized portion following the asterisks, but it does not contain any mention of sexual assault/drug use.
> 
> *If you are skipping the italicized portion, there is a TL;DR in the end notes.

_Good morning, proud workers of Coruscant. It is now time to rise and begin your day. Your contribution to this grand and glorious Empire is appreciated by all of us who benefit from your noble labor. Take comfort knowing you spend another day in the service of your Emperor, and his pursuit of galactic peace and harmony—_

_—‘Ooh, AJ, shit, you feel so good—uuhhn—you're gorgeous, so pretty under me like this. No, shhhh, don't cry like that, she might hear us. I said stop that, you're ruining it. Stop it—Stop—'_

_—Report #534. Sender: Sienar Fleet Systems. Recipient: Imperial City Naval Base: The TIE/D Defender production is proceeding as planned, despite interruptions to production. Shields have been tested thoroughly both in a controlled environment, and on the field. The laser cannons are firing flawlessly, and the issue with the twin ion engines has been resolved. Shipment is expected by the end of the quarter—_

_—'It's a misunderstanding, Andrew,' Luthor was saying through a fog, 'You're mistaking his affection for something more. Be grateful the Empire didn't have you executed. You're lucky to be alive with caring masters, after what you did—_ _'_

 _—'They requested you be awake for the procedure,' the technician was saying. A bright light behind their head obscured Andrew's view of their face. They'd injected him with a paralytic agent,_ _and pried his eyes open with cold clamps so he couldn’t avoid witnessing what was about to happen. 'This will be incredibly painful,' the technician informed him clinically, 'Don't try to struggle against it, or it could result in permanent damage—‘_

Static. Andrew could barely piece his mind back together through the static—

— _'How's working on the base, honey?' Cass asked Drake over their dining room table. A simulation of the Coruscant sunset was shining down on them from the holoscreens projecting over the windows._

_'It's going great, mom. My supervisor is already saying I'm the best trainee he's had this rotation. And I'm making all sorts of friends on base.' Andrew was trying to ignore Drake's hand resting on his thigh under the table. He didn't flinch when Drake squeezed._

_'That's great, darling! Your father will be so proud when he returns home. How about you, dear? Are the new modifications bothering you at all? I tried to have them outfit you with the latest comfort specs.' Cass turned her motherly concern to Andrew who was cutting his food into smaller and smaller pieces._

_'They're working great, mistress, thank you,' Andrew replied. He hated the feeling of warmth her soft eyes provoked in him. That he could barely tell it apart from the Duty Protocol programmed into the implant._

_'Oh, Andrew, you know I've told you to call me Cass,' she chided gently. It was harder than that to override his protocols. Andrew struggled to reply._

_'Yes...Cass. Sorry.'_

_'No need to be sorry, dear. You know we all think of you as family in this household—'_

_—ERROR. COULD NOT RETRIEVE DATA ON 'DEATH STAR'_

_ERROR. COULD NOT RETRIEVE DATA ON 'PROJECT STARDUST'_

_ERROR. COULD NOT RETRIEVE DATA ON 'PLANET KILLER'_

_ERROR. USER NOT AUTHORIZED TO OPEN THIS FILE_

_ERROR_ _—_

_—'Markus in Records helped me find something interesting yesterday,' Drake said to Andrew, a hand pushing Andrew's head down between his knees. He grunted as Andrew obeyed the pressure. 'He owed me a favor, so he helped me look into some things in the Imperial database. I got a nice good look at your rap sheet in there.'_

_Cold dread took hold in Andrew's chest and made him forget what he was doing. Drake tugged irritatedly on his hair._

_'Who told you you could stop?' He shoved Andrew down again, and Andrew had to relax so he wouldn't choke._

_'Anyway, since you've been so good lately I thought I'd do you a little favor myself, and see if I couldn't figure out what your family's been up to these last few years. Andrew,' Drake paused, 'You didn't tell me you had a twin brother—'_

Andrew couldn't control what was happening in his mind—

 _—'No,_ _' Andrew begged, 'I'm enough. Don't look for him—you don't need him.' Drake put a hand under Andrew's jaw and tilted his chin up in a deceptive display of gentleness. 'Oh, AJ, don't worry. Just because I know about him now doesn't mean I'll stop taking care of you. Even better, I could have the both of you here with me. I can imagine what you'd look like in my bed together. It'd be picture perfect—_

Andrew couldn't control it—control it—control it—

_—Andrew was sitting on the floor of their apartment on Coruscant. His mother liked the lights off when she was high on spice, so it was just the fluorescent sign on the club next to them illuminating the room. Aaron had started sneaking spice after their mother was too doshed out to notice, and he was smiling senselessly at the air in the middle of the apartment like he could see something funny standing there._

_Andrew was too distracted to think too much of it. He hadn't taken any of the spice himself, but some strange sensation had started stirring around him without it. When he closed his eyes, he could feel every heartbeat in the apartment building. There was a warmth that reached out to him from somewhere beyond his mind. It moved through and around him like a force of energy, influencing every life on Coruscant. He knew that if he reached out to it, he would be reaching out to all that existed in the galaxy. Andrew touched his fingertips to the floor and pulled that force towards himself._

_'What are you doing?' a voice slurred beyond the light. Andrew's eyes popped open, and there was a thud as everything in the apartment fell to the floor._

_Andrew recoiled, pulling his hands to himself. His mother was staring at him. Her mouth was slack, but her eyes were bright with surprising clarity._

_'Were you doing that?' She asked Andrew, 'Everything was-was floating. Was that you?'_

_'I don't know,' Andrew replied, nervously. His mother shook her head with the coordination of someone just barely keeping themselves conscious._

_'You're one of them,' She said. Andrew didn't know what she meant. Her eyes rolled back as the spice peaked again—before she could elaborate. Andrew watched her slump back in her seat._

_That energy still called to him. He could feel it thrumming under his skin. What was this. What was he?—_

_***_

_—This entire planet had dumped enough sand on Andrew to double his weight, and all he had to show for it was a cup of swill in a sad excuse for a cantina, and the Empire's forces swarming the town inconveniently. His contact had gone to ground as soon as the first whines of the TIE fighters entering this rock's atmosphere sounded out. This wasn't a planet that usually got the Empire's attention, and the sudden appearance of Imperial forces spooked the locals enough to slow any untoward business, but not enough to empty out fine establishments like this._

_Aaron was already halfway past wasted, which meant he was too pissy to deal with. Nicky hadn't figured that out yet and was still trying to get Aaron to go along with some ridiculous bet. Andrew swallowed whatever was left at the bottom of his cup without sniffing the contents as they went down. It was easier that way. The liquid still turned sour in his mouth.They had to get off this rock. He had to get more to drink._

_There was a shift in the air of the cantina, but Andrew was the only one perceptive enough to notice. It was a sudden pressure, like everything around him was tensing up on instinct. He glanced around the room discreetly, wondering what could have caused the change. He couldn't pick anything out, but the feeling didn't go away. It itched at him. Andrew slammed his cup down and stood. Nicky was too busy pestering Aaron to question him, and Aaron was too busy being drunk._

_The feeling pulled Andrew to the bar, where a surly bartender was obviously not concerned about getting good tips. The pressure intensified, cooling the air as Andrew got nearer. He knew that if he hadn't been drinking, he might not have felt it at all through the implant's influence. As it was, it was almost unbearable. He needed to find the source._

_Andrew didn't notice the short man at first. An Aqualish and a hideous human man had been blocking Andrew's view, but when they cleared out, his eyes snapped to the stranger instantly. His chest felt like it had been struck by blaster-fire, his heart thudding painfully in its wake. There was something powerful surrounding this man. Something that shouldn't be touched. Andrew's senses screamed at him to turn around and run as far in the opposite direction as he could._

_Instead, he stepped up behind the man, slapping the bar like he was just there to order a drink. The stranger turned around and Andrew finally saw his face._

_Oh._

_This was going to be a problem_ _—_

Andrew woke with his body buzzing as sensation returned to it all at once. He grit his teeth against an exhalation of pain and clenched his fists until the feeling subsided. He was lying on a bench in Eden's passenger bay, and the lights were down. For a moment, the implant stalled Andrew's mental processing and it was like being in an unfamiliar place. Panic tripped through him and he strangled it. He was shivering.

Neil was sitting in the cabin near him. Andrew could sense him before he actually saw him. It was that weight that always anchored itself around Neil. Something cold that repelled Andrew while also luring him closer. A hunger that triggered some deep instinct in him to close his hands around it.

When Andrew could control the muscles of his neck, he finally turned to see what Neil had been doing while sitting there in darkness. A small crystal drifted above Neil's open palm, staining a faint red glow on Neil's face. Neil stared at it like it was revealing the secrets of the universe to him.

Andrew snorted. His mind still felt pinched tight, like only half-thoughts could fit through. He thought he could hear someone screaming distantly, but he couldn't make it out clearly through the cotton that clouded his head. He drew words to his mouth with difficulty, but all that made it through was, "Kevin."

"In the cockpit with Aaron. He's a shit copilot," Neil answered.

"And Nicky?" Andrew asked after a moment of wrestling to get his own mouth to work.

"Still out on the other bench. As far as I can tell, he's fine. Just unconscious. He'll come around."

There was a pause.

Andrew could sense Neil was about to say something stupid. He was right. Neil's breath hitched before he spoke.  
  
"I was trained separately from most of the Inquisitors." Neil didn't turn away from the crystal. It spun slowly in a circle over his hand. "I was special. The Emperor had sensed a darkness in me that exceeded everyone he'd seen before. Everyone except for one person."

Andrew could guess who that one person was. The only person the Emperor trusted to carry out his every task—the one they referred to as his Butcher.

Neil closed his hand over the crystal, and Andrew couldn't see his expression in the moment it took his eyes to adjust to the change in light. There was a sound like Neil was rummaging through a pack, and a second later, the red glow returned. It was no longer coming from the crystal, but a palm-sized pyramid that Neil held tightly in both hands.

Something was whispering in a language Andrew didn't know. He could barely hear it, like it was slipping through a parallel plane of existence. He strained to hear it more clearly. He needed to hear what they were saying. He needed to understand.

"This is a Sith holocron." Neil's voice interrupted the whispering, and a strange release in Andrew's mind brought him back to the moment. "It contains all of their knowledge. Their teachings. My--master gave this to me just before I left so I could begin my training to be one of the Sith. He didn't think I would take it from him forever. But when I caught a glimpse of even a hint of what this holocron contained, I knew I couldn't let him keep it. It's too dangerous."

Neil locked eyes with Andrew, his expression haunted. "This holocron is more important than my life. Many others have died for it. More have been lost trying to understand the knowledge it contains. If it falls into the Empire's hands again, we will all be doomed."

Neil wrapped the holocron in cloth and placed it carefully back in his pack, throwing them back in darkness. This was a heavy truth. Coming from Neil, it meant that the price for what he was revealing would be steep. Andrew wondered what Neil was expecting from him. What he intended to receive in return. He didn't need to wait long for Neil to tell him himself.

"I owed you a truth for what Riko showed me." Neil hesitated. "Whatever he did to your implant. I-I saw your memories. Of that man." 

Neil took a breath. There was a new silence that settled around them in that breath. Or Andrew's mind was slipping again.

Neil pressed further, "I saw what happened with _him_. Drake."

 Andrew felt a quick and intense urge to shove a knife through Neil's throat. His fingers twitched, but he didn't move. Bile threatened to rise into his mouth. "Oh, Neil. You're far too heavy to be treading on ice this thin."

Neil met Andrew's eyes in response. He had the absurd look of someone witnessing a lothcat getting kicked in the street. Oh. Of course Neil had seen everything. Knew everything. Andrew didn't even have it in him to be surprised. Laughter shattered in his throat, and he didn't try to hold it back.

Hysterical. Riko had stripped Andrew to the bone, and Neil had been there to witness the gutting. Every part of Andrew had been exposed to this man--this lie.

Neil waited until Andrew's body couldn't keep up with the laughter, and his breathing started to even out. Andrew's stomach cramped from the effort. He was still shivering.

"I'm going to kill him," Neil vowed.

Andrew let one side of his mouth slip so his grin fell askew in a near-snarl. "You're a few years too late. He's already dead." Drake. Luthor. Even the technician who'd sown the implant into Andrew's brain.

Neil shook his head. "Not him. Riko. I'm going to take him apart."

Who the pfassk did this scrawny Imperial-cast-off think he was? Some sort of Jedi Knight? They both knew the truth behind that.

Andrew laughed in his face. "You?" He said scornfully. The resolve on Neil’s face didn't falter.

"I'm going to burn the Inquisitorius to the ground. I won't stop until the very memory of them is ash." He looked at Andrew like he believed in that childish promise. Like he didn't cower from the mere thought of the Empire catching up to him. Andrew couldn't stand the sight of it.

"Good luck with that," Andrew said.

"I won't need luck. I have the Force. And this," Neil replied seriously. He opened his hand again, revealing that puny red crystal he was obsessed with. 

"Perfect! A rock. You can throw it at Riko's head. If you do it hard enough, maybe you can dent it," Andrew mocked. Neil raised an eyebrow at the remark.

"It's a kyber crystal. The only known material that can withstand a lightsaber's power grid. With this I can forge a weapon to counter the Inquisitorious. I'm better trained than Riko. Stronger with the Force. Next time we meet, I _will_ kill him," Neil explained.

Andrew didn't even want to respond to the idiot, but his tongue was too loose now to stop. "When you meet the Maker, give them a message for me." He flashed Neil a rude gesture popular in the lower levels of Coruscant. Neil snorted.

"Or, you can do it yourself next time you piss off the tentacle monster living in the trash compactor," Neil retorted. 

"Like I've said. Nothing that's put its hands on me has lived to tell the tale."

Neil stiffened. "No," he agreed. He clenched the kyber crystal tightly in his fist. “Andrew—“

The broken tone of his voice was something Andrew couldn’t hear yet. Not when he could still feel Drake pushing him down in that room on Coruscant. Andrew felt his smile take a vicious edge.

”Do us a favor,” Andrew interrupted, “Let’s not talk a while.”

Neil shut up, but what he’d wanted to say still sat in his mouth as he pressed his lips in a tight line. It generated an annoying tension in the air. Neil was probably wallowing in Andrew's memories like they were his own weight to bear. Andrew couldn't suffer misplaced guilt. Weariness finally overcame the implant's mania and he let the silence mercifully take hold of the passenger bay.   
  
Nicky hadn't woken yet, and Kevin and Aaron remained in the cockpit as they navigated through hyperspace. Everyone had probably panicked and abandoned the job when Riko had laid Andrew out. They would be heading back to Yavin IV, instead of Roland. 

Andrew struggled against his lethargy until he could finally push himself into sitting position. Blackness crept up along his vision as he got to his feet. The cabin tipped around him, but he didn't stumble through sheer willpower.

Neil glanced up at him questioningly, but Andrew was done talking to him. He headed towards the cockpit.

"I told you, we're already going at hyperspeed—I can’t get us there any faster," Aaron snapped irritably without looking up, "We already had 264 run a diagnostic on Andrew's implant, and he'll be fine til we get back to base."

"No, it must be malfunctioning, because I swear I just heard you say we were heading back to the rebels. Maybe it can kill me before I have to see Gordon again?” Andrew said. Aaron whipped around in surprise to look at Andrew. He schooled his expression to disinterest quickly, but Andrew still noticed the relief that flashed across his face.

"You're up," Aaron said. 

"And you're in my seat," Andrew replied.

"You were too useless to take it yourself."

"So you had Kevin take copilot. That wasn't a useless decision?"

"Neil wouldn't leave the passenger bay," Kevin grumbled, not denying his incompetence.

"That son of a sarlacc almost shot me when I tried to pry him away from that stupid rock," Aaron added.

Andrew knew it wasn't the crystal Neil didn't want to leave. And that revelation made him want to crush something under the heel of his boot. Andrew ignored it.

"Out." Andrew snapped his fingers at Kevin and pointed at the door. Kevin gave Andrew a dubious once-over.

"We're already in hyperspace, I can handle it--" 

"Out," Andrew repeated.

Kevin threw his hands in the air and stood up from the copilot's seat. "Fine!" he said in exasperation as he left.

Andrew took Kevin's place, dropping into the seat gracelessly and tapping his fingers across the controls. “Now, let’s turn this thing around and head to Roland’s.”

Aaron let out a sigh. "Nicky is injured. Neil, too. We should get them back to base for treatment."

Andrew's fingers danced more restlessly over the dash. Neil seemed fine enough to annoy Andrew with his pity, but Nicky could be worse off than he knew.

"Fine. We'll leave the invalids with the rebels, then finish the job," Andrew conceded.

It took more time to drop Nicky off on Yavin IV than Andrew could graciously bear. Alderaan's destruction had rebel defenses set on their finest edge, and Andrew had to give their clearance codes almost a dozen times before they reached the ground. On top of the Fox Squadron fawning over an unconscious Nicky like it might actually help, Neil refused to leave for treatment until Andrew viciously squeezed the shoulder he'd been favoring suspiciously. There was nothing Neil could do after the resulting yelp of pain that could keep the Foxes from detaining him on base.   
  
When Andrew finally had the jump calculations for Roland's outpost warming up in Eden's cockpit, it had been several hours, and the intel was already growing cold. Aaron and Kevin were tired from their stint on Coruscant. Nobody said a word until they reached their destination.

Roland's new outpost was on the dark side of Tailara's smallest moon. It was barely large enough to have its own gravitational field--and so insignificant, it had no known name. Andrew had only stopped here twice before, having been too caught up in Kevin's dealings with the Rebellion to take any of Roland's recent jobs. The outpost was nicely outfitted, considering the resources Roland had at his disposal. A small, plain facility painted to camouflage itself on the moon's surface, it had one tiny hangar and a perimeter of homemade shield-generators. 

Andrew hailed Roland as they approached, allowing him enough time to drop the shields. Roland was already there in the hangar to greet them when they pulled in.

"Took you a while," Roland called out as Andrew and his crew came down the gangplank, "Run into trouble? Where's Nicky?" His concern was genuine, and Andrew brushed it off.

"What matters is we got the intel. Mint condition." Andrew pulled out the datacard he'd prepared on the way over. Roland took it without inspecting it, giving Andrew a knowing once-over.

"Threw in a few extras, too. Free of charge," Andrew added on with a crooked grin.

Roland tipped his chin up, looking through lowered lashes at Andrew. He understood Andrew didn't want to discuss what had happened on Coruscant. That's what Andrew liked about Roland. He knew when to back off.

"Alright. I'll go get your payment. You want to come verify it?" Roland raised an eyebrow. The usual code. Andrew didn't feel like going to the back room with Roland today. He shook his head.

"Aaron can check it out," Andrew said. 

Roland nodded in acknowledgement. "Come on then, Minyard. While you're at it, tell me about this new crew member I've been hearing about."

Their voices trailed off as they left the hangar, leaving Kevin and Andrew alone. Roland’s main crew must have been sent off for scavenging, or were occupied elsewhere around the facility. There was just one dinky cargo ship still in the hangar, aside from Eden’s Twilight, and not a sign of life could be seen in it.

"It's all gone," Kevin said at length. Andrew looked at him from the corner of his eye. Kevin was staring at the scars on the back of his left hand, which stood out starkly against his skin.

"Everything." Kevin's voice broke.

"It was gone the moment you defied the Emperor," Andrew pointed out.

"I left so the people of Alderaan wouldn't be caught up in this," Kevin argued.

"You left so the Empire couldn't catch up to you," Andrew corrected him. Kevin's mouth twisted angrily for one intense second before resignation took hold of his expression again.

"You're right. I should have served my people better. I might have if I had stayed behind. Instead I rushed out to the Rebellion expecting it to be so easy--to take down the Empire and come home to my people a hero. I didn't understand anything then." Kevin looked up from his hands, despair sunken into his eyes. 

"What am I even fighting for anymore? The Empire is right. The Rebellion isn't enough to stand against it. My planet has been destroyed. The Jedi are all gone. Neil--I thought he could bring the Order back, despite everything. But--" Kevin flinched. "--his eyes. I saw them when he was fighting with Riko. They changed. He's-he's just like the Sith. Too deep in the Dark Side to come back from it. He'll never be able to fight the Emperor. He'll never bring balance to the Force. It's over. It's all over."

Kevin clenched his jaw so hard Andrew could hear his teeth grinding. Andrew watched him blink rapidly and tilt his head back, fighting the tears of frustration that had welled up during his speech. It was a sight Andrew had seen before, but not one he was willing to let take root now.

"No, Kevin," Andrew told him, thinking of the expression on Neil's face as he held the Sith holocron in his shaking hands, "It's not over."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *TL;DR: Andrew's implant forces him through a choppy slew of Imperial data and memories in the following order: 
> 
> The automated greeting Imperial laborers hear before starting their work days.  
> Dialogue of Drake assaulting Andrew  
> An Imperial report about a new TIE fighter  
> Luthor telling Andrew Drake's assault is a misunderstanding  
> Imperial report about attack formations  
> A memory of Andrew getting the implant  
> A memory of eating dinner with Cass and Drake; Cass tells Andrew he is family  
> Error messages--Andrew is unable to retrieve information on the Death Star  
> Drake tells Andrew he knows about Aaron, & that he wants to have the both of them in bed with him  
> A memory of Andrew using the Force while his mother is high; She sees him levitating objects in their apartment and recognizes him as Force-sensitive  
> Andrew's final memory is of the first time he sees Neil before he wakes.
> 
> Thank you for reading this fic! Please comment to let me know what you thought about the chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil constructs his lightsaber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope y'all've been well! Hope you enjoy this update!

Neil didn’t need to take a dip in the bacta tank, for which he thanked the Maker. Instead, he sat obediently while a med droid injected healing enzymes along the edge of the burn on his shoulder. The numbing agent administered earlier made his shoulder feel disconcertingly detached and he didn’t even feel the prick of the needle. He focused on the med droid’s discolored chest-plate to distract from his discomfort, fabricating scenarios of what had happened to the droid to require such hasty repairs.

Nicky, they found out, had no outstanding physical injuries. He’d been knocked out by a heavy dose of sedative that threatened nothing more than a long nap and some minor memory loss. The droid techs had hooked him up to several monitors with his own med droid attending him until the sedative wore off. 264 had sustained only superficial damage, too, and Dan had already whisked the newly acquired droid away for repairs. She said she’d keep it for a few hours so she could see what intel could be excavated from its programming.

“Your treatment is complete,” the med droid informed Neil in a sterile tone. It pulled its syringe apparatus away from Neil’s shoulder.

“Your post-treatment instructions for your [S h o u l d e r   I n j u r y] are as follows: No heavy lifting. Keep the wound covered until the healing agent has set. Air out the wound periodically to prevent infection. Apply the provided balm every four hours to minimize scarring and infection. If you follow these instructions your injury should heal promptly.” The med droid offered Neil a tiny containment unit that held the mentioned burn balm.

”Thank you,” Neil said, taking the tube.

The med droid moved on with no further fanfare.

The feeling in Neil's shoulder wouldn't return for another hour or so. He rolled it experimentally to confirm its uselessness. Sure enough, the motion was clumsy, leaving Neil disgruntled. Anesthesia was almost impossible to access on the run, and Mary hadn't liked the way it dulled their sense anyway. Neil was used to bearing whatever pain came with patching his wounds. He almost preferred it. But explaining that to a medical droid following protocol took more effort than Neil was willing to expend now. Neil leaned over his knees, ignoring the heaviness of his shoulder as he pressed his weight onto his elbows.  
  
He'd told Andrew about the holocron.

When deciding what information to give away, Neil had weighed the truth of his identity against the truth of the holocron's existence. Considering Andrew's indifference to the Force, and the imminent danger of Neil's past, Neil had chosen the holocron. He was hoping that the relic of an ancient religion would put Andrew's interest off as much as Kevin's rants about the Jedi did. 

It was still a dangerous gambit. Neil had been telling the truth when he said the information the holocron contained was worth more than his own life in the grand scheme of the galaxy, but that wasn't enough to overcome old habits. He'd risk his safety to keep the holocron from his father's hands, but his instinct to survive was too strong to die for it.

Andrew was the only person in the galaxy Neil could trust with the knowledge of the holocron's existence. Andrew had proven too dedicated to his promises to throw them away for credits, and he'd already promised to protect Neil. If Neil said keeping the holocron a secret was imperative to his survival, Andrew would listen.

Neil had the holocron with him now, safely hidden in his pack. He had the kyber crystal, too, wrapped tightly in a spare pair of socks. Even now, he could hear its anguished cries calling out to him. The Inquisitors had employed this crystal in service of the Darkness many, many times. Neil was going to do the same. He had no choice. He needed a weapon to even the playing field between himself and Riko if he was going to kill the man.

There had to be parts Neil could scavenge from around base to build a decent lightsaber. Nothing fancy, just something that could produce a blade and withstand the wear and tear of battle. Neil already had his hands on the most difficult pieces of a lightsaber to procure: a kyber crystal, and the schematics needed to construct the weapon. The latter was something Darth Asmenys made sure Neil would never forget. He'd deconstructed and reconstructed lightsabers so many times under his father's training that he could do it blindfolded with both hands tied behind his back.

_'Wrong,' a voice hissed just outside Abram's consciousness. His mind was yanked suddenly towards it and he opened his eyes, blinking._

_Darth Asmenys stood over him burning in the red glow of Abram's kyber crystal. Abram went completely still, knowing that any movement could be cause for punishment. Asmenys flicked a hand out like he was wiping something from the air in front of him. There was a clattering as the beginnings of Abram's lightsaber fell to pieces on the floor._

_'If you cannot competently construct the weapon you are wielding, you are unfit to deploy it. Have I taught you nothing?'_

_Abram didn't respond. Darth Asmenys brought the kyber crystal to himself, suspending it in the air over his hand._

_'It seems I need to teach you again. Get up.'_

_Abram got to his feet slowly, avoiding his father's eyes. Failure meant time with the mind probe of an interrogation droid. Time with the interrogation droid meant having his thoughts flayed into seconds that felt like eternities, and excruciating pain._

_Darth Asmenys led Abram to the chair. The probe drifted innocuously around the head of it, gleaming in the single light overhead. Asmenys didn't need to give the order. Abram sat and strapped himself down._

_'I sense your fear. You fear of pain--it clouds your thoughts. Obstructs your focus. The path to the Dark Side is clear to those who aren't afraid.' Asmenys circled Abram slowly, the droid drifting behind him._

_'What is pain to you? Pain is a weapon to servants of the Darkness. You let yourself lose control of your weapon and it has turned on you. You are exposed.' Asmenys stopped in front of Abram, but the droid remained somewhere behind him. Abram felt it hanging over his head like an ax about to fall._

_'You will learn, Tyro. Or you will die.' Asmenys stepped back from the light, and Abram heard the clicking of the droid preparing itself for what was about to happen._

_'Let's begin,' Asmenys said._

Neil hadn't forgotten his lessons, nor the historical importance of the lightsaber. It was the Sith who revolutionized lightsabers by designing a power cell to fit within the hilt, instead of tethering it to a battery pack hooked to their belts. They were also the first to build and wield a double-bladed lightsaber. Neil understood the significance of a weapon that only those strong in the force could handle to its full potential.

The Jedi Order eventually utilized lightsabers in their own endeavors, but according to Neil's father, they were poor imitators of the Sith. The Jedi were too focused on restraint. On holding themselves in check. To Darth Asmenys, that weakened them. But Neil understood that it was the perfect control of the raw energy generated in the finely-tuned machinations of a lightsaber that made it deadly.

Neil gathered his pack to leave the med bay. He made sure to pass by Nicky's bed just to check he was still breathing and being attended well by his med droid. Neil was surprised to find a woman there with him instead. She smiled at him when their eyes met.

"Neil, I believe?" She said.

Neil said nothing, eyeing her warily. He glanced down at Nicky to see if she'd tampered with any of the tubes connecting him to his monitors.

The woman let out a light laugh, disregarding Neil's hostility. "You're just like David said you'd be. My name's Abby. I oversee the Alliance's medical operations." 

Neil vaguely remembered General Wymack's first name being David. He didn't like that the general had been discussing him with this stranger. Or that the discussion had been enough for this Abby to recognize him upon sight.

"I haven't seen you around," Neil noted.

"Normally, I stay on base, but I was needed elsewhere. Which is why we haven't yet had the chance to meet," Abby explained. 

"Oh," Neil said. Abby gave him a fond smile that threw him off.

"Why did you send the med droid away? Is there something wrong with him?" Neil asked.

"The opposite, actually. He should be waking up within the hour. I'm just making some rounds. I would have stopped in to see you, too, but it looks like I don't need to. How's your shoulder feeling?" Abby said.

"It's not," Neil replied. Abby laughed again.

"The anesthetic is doing its job, then. I know it's a little disorienting, but it'll wear off soon." 

Neil didn't know how to respond to Abby’s open friendliness. She had the matronly disposition of someone used to caring for others. Neil didn't trust her on instinct. He shuffled the pack on his shoulder and glanced down at her hands folded politely in front of her. There were healing field generators clipped to the belt at her waist, and he wondered if she hadn't had the chance to take them off to inventory after being out in the field. Maybe she'd stopped here as soon as she'd returned.

"Have you been finding everything on base alright so far?" Abby asked him. Neil looked up from her hands.

"It's fine," Neil answered automatically. Abby nodded.

"Good. I know David and the Foxes are glad to have you here. I am, too, of course. Every person who joins our side brings us one step closer to abolishing the Empire."

"I'm just here on a job,"  Neil reminded her, not liking the gratitude she offered so freely--like he was committing some selfless act.

"We all are, Neil. All of us. The payout might be a little different, but we're still here because we're willing to work for it.” There was a beat of silence as Abby let her words hang in the air between them.

”Right.” Abby disarmed the moment and glanced back over Nicky to confirm he was still peacefully unconscious. "I should finish my rounds and report to Command. It was nice speaking with you, Neil."

"You, too," Neil lied. He felt he hadn't really spoken much. Abby gave him another guileless smile, before passing him to check out the rest of the med bay. Neil left her to it. 

Neil had become familiar with the inventory system on the Rebel base during his last stay here. There were supply closets stocked with tools used daily by the rebels, or in upkeep of the base itself. Some storage units had been organized just for ship maintenance, while others housed spare parts for weaponry. The rebels tried to keep their inventory logs as organized as they could, but so many of their supplies were scavenged or stolen that it was impossible to keep track of every piece that came through.

Neil could have just asked for what he wanted, but he didn't want anyone keeping a record of the things he was collecting. He had to be cautious--even if the rebels could have been trusted, the knowledge of how to build a lightsaber was too dangerous to give just anyone. Neil settled for sneaking the parts he needed from older storage units, in the hopes that nobody would miss them.

With the exception of the kyber crystal, most of the components of a lightsaber were so simple, Neil could have found them back in the tatty repair shop on Tatooine. Even the crystal could be substituted for something less powerful, but the resulting weapon would wear quickly, and be so inferior in make it barely qualified.

It took Neil barely any time to collect everything he needed, safely stowed in his pack. When he'd gotten it all, he slipped off to a dusty, unused bunk on the far side of the base where he could work without interruption. By then, the numbness of his shoulder had been replaced by a dull ache.

Neil laid the odds and ends out before him the same way he'd done many times before. It felt strange returning to this ritual. He kept the crystal closed in his palm, muffling its agony, and knelt on the floor. Dust puffed up around him and spun in the light lazily as it settled. Neil felt himself sinking back into the Force, the familiar ice of the Darkness pulling him down. The dust motes slowed in the air until they stilled completely. Neil breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. 

_Darth Asmenys watched as Abram dragged himself out of the chair. The interrogation droid had returned to floating innocuously somewhere above him. Abram could taste his own blood in his mouth. He swallowed, not wanting to let his father know he'd bitten his tongue to keep from crying out during their lesson. The unpleasant tang of it lingered in the back of his mouth._

_The pieces of Abram's lightsaber still lay on the ground where Asmenys had tossed them aside. All that was missing was the kyber crystal. Abram took his place on the floor where he was expected, and waited for his father's order._

_'Kyber crystals focus the energy of a lightsaber and amplify its intensity. This one was mined from pure kyberite. Free of impurities. Perfectly attuned to the Force." Abram watched as his father inspected the crystal held between his finger and thumb. Its red light made the intensity of his gaze sharpen._

_"They're known as living crystals. And like all living things, they flee to the Light in their natural inclination towards cowardice. Like all living things, they must be broken from that instinct if you want to make use of them. Tell me, Tyro, why are our kyber crystals red?" Asmenys focused on Abram, who answered by rote._

_"They're bleeding," He said. Kyber bled cold, like the Darkness. He felt it washing over his skin._

_"The true strength of the Force is only wrought when you reign it to your own will. Pain is our weapon," Asmenys repeated. He lowered the crystal to Abram, who opened a palm to accept it._

_"Bleed it, Jen'woyunoks," He ordered._

_Abram grit his teeth and opened his mind to the screams of the crystal being forced into the Darkness with him._

Sweat stung his eyes when Neil opened them. His jaw ached from clenching it, and that made the rest of his head throb. On the floor in front of him, was Neil's new lightsaber. It was rough, the parts already scuffed from being scavenged before, but it was whole. Neil reached out to it carefully, closing his hand over it to feel the thrum of power it contained.

It had been a long time since Neil had held his own lightsaber. This one balanced differently in his palms. He got to his feet and gripped it in a ready stance. The crystal whispered at the fringe of his thoughts. Neil took a steadying breath and ignited the lightsaber.

Red light filled the room, and the hum of the blade echoed against the walls, making it feel smaller. Neil swung the saber lightly, testing the heft of his new weapon. There was a sense of safety in holding a lightsaber again. Neil went through a few basic forms, his muscles stiff as they tried to remember the movements.

When he'd been on the run, his mother had forbidden any conscious contact with the Force, including revisiting his old training under Darth Asmenys and his Inquisitorius. Neil hadn't had a problem cutting anything to do with the Sith out of his life. Back then, it mean keeping his father from finding them. Now, Neil knew that hiding wouldn't be enough.

Neil sheathed the lightsaber, leaving himself, and the room, in shadow. This was one more piece in Neil's defenses. He stowed it in a grubby sack that he slung across his back, the weight of another secret.

The base was still tense from the aftershock of the sudden loss of an entire planet, especially one that had strong ties to the Rebellion. Everyone Neil saw as he made his way back to his bunk varied between silent horror, and crazed panic. He couldn't imagine things quieting down anytime soon. Knowledge of what the Death Star was capable of changed everything. Desperation strung the air tight around them.

Neil assumed Andrew and the others had returned from the exchange. He didn't know exactly what time it was, but it had been hours since he'd been poked and prodded by a med droid. Knowing Andrew's flying, there was no way they hadn't made it to the drop point and back swiftly. That is, if they didn't need to make some stops along the way.

Sure enough, the light under the closed door of their bunk let Neil know they'd returned. He'd already lifted his hand to enter the room when the sound of a woman's voice made him pause. He strained to hear the muffled conversation until he confirmed it was Mon Mothma speaking with Kevin.

"--imperative that we find its weakness before they can deploy it again," Mon Mothma was saying.

"I'm sorry, Chancellor, he couldn't find anything on Coruscant. After Scarif, they've buried all files on the Death Star. I don't know if Andrew will be able to find them at all. And it's getting worse with his implant," Kevin responded. There was a despairing tone in his voice that made it sound like he'd given up. Mon Mothma heard it, too.

"Senator...I can't pretend I know what it's like to have lost Alderaan the same way you lost it, but you understand better than any of us what could happen if we don't stop the Death Star now. We need those plans. Until we have them, we can't remove Captain Minyard's implant. You know that," Mon Mothma said.

Neil's eyebrows drew down in confusion, and he pressed closer to the door. There was a long silence in response to Mon Mothma's words that allowed Neil to think over what they'd meant.

The Rebellion was able to remove Andrew's implant.

They could relieve him from the mood enhancers that forced that sickening smile on Andrew's face. 

But they wouldn't.

Neil pulled away from the door, no longer willing to listen to the conversation behind it. The Rebellion exploited its allies just as the Empire did--despite their self-righteous speeches about saving the people of the galaxy from the evil clutches of the Empire. If the Rebellion did overthrow the Empire, would those people really be better off? 

Neil stayed out of sight as Mon Mothma finished her discussion with Kevin. He waited until she disappeared down the hallway, then stepped silently into the doorway. Kevin was sitting on his bunk with his head in his hands. It took him a moment to notice Neil, and he flinched when he saw him standing there.

"Neil." Kevin's posture was tense, cautious. Neil realized the last time they'd seen each other, he'd been fully in the grip of the Dark Side. He felt like he was close to repeating the experience. 

"The rebels are using Andrew for his implant," Neil started coldly. The fear in Kevin's posture seemed to collapse into resignation.

"Andrew made a deal with me--with the Alliance," Kevin said wearily, "He won't let them remove his implant unless he delivers what he's promised anyway."

"And what did he promise? The Death Star plans?" Neil asked. Kevin shook his head, looking down to the floor.

"He has access to intel we would have no way of getting otherwise--not as efficiently as he does. When he found out the Alliance could remove the implant without killing him, Andrew made a deal to provide them with whatever intel they needed in exchange for taking it off."

"I thought he made a deal to protect you."

Kevin squeezed his hands together between his knees. "That's something else."

"How long are they going to make him live with it? Until the war is over? Or when he dies?" Neil accused.

"The Death Star needs to be dismantled," Kevin answered, "They won't be satisfied until the Empire can no longer use it against us."

Neil's fists clenched and the lighting in the room blew out with a loud shattering of glass. "That's bantha shit," Neil spat.

When he'd been drawn into Andrew's memories by Riko, he'd felt what the implant did to Andrew. It was a prison of Drake's making--something Andrew could never forget, or escape. 

Rage made Neil's throat close up, and he had to turn on his heel and storm from the room to stop himself from crushing Kevin's throat. He'd also made a deal with Andrew--a deal to protect Kevin. And he wouldn't break it in a fit of temper. 

Neil left the base, the humidity of the surrounding forest pressing too tight against his skin, making it harder to breathe as he swatted branches out of his way. The lightsaber was out before he noticed he'd ignited it. His body moved into the first stance of one of the more advanced forms his father had taught him specifically for a long, painful execution. He could see the wounds burn across the flesh of his nonexistent opponent as he slashed at the air. 

Neil fought through variations of Form V, which his father had taught him, and Form III, which had been his mother's doing, countless times until his limbs shook from the exertion. The rage in his body slowly drained as he concentrated on stepping and swinging through the proper positions. The deactivation of his lightsaber when he’d finished left a silence around him that made the exhausted calm set thoroughly in his skin.

Neil knelt down to the soft, damp dirt and clipped the lightsaber back to his belt. Andrew's memories were still painful in his mind, stark against his own. He needed to deal with this. Neil caught hold of the Force--struggled for the balance he needed. He meditated until pink light began to sink through the leaves, and various wildlife woke to stir through the foliage around him.

When dawn broke fully, Neil knew what he needed to do.

Nobody gave him a second look as he passed through the hangar, too busy with the morning preparations. Likewise, he didn't greet anybody until he found the person he was looking for.

Andrew sat in the window of the bunk, a rolled cigarette smoking thinly in his fingers as he looked out at the forest. Morning light colored his pale hair a deceptively serene shade of gold and sharpened the freckles on his cheeks. Neil felt strangely breathless as he observed the sight. The others, conveniently, were nowhere in sight.

"The runaway has returned," Andrew said without looking at Neil. He clicked his tongue as if disappointed at the thought.

Neil didn't bother responding to the inane chatter. He stepped into the room and nicked the cigarette from Andrew. He took a slow drag, steeling himself as the familiar rush hit his veins. 

"I want to end our deal," Neil said. He handed the cigarette back to Andrew who didn't take it.

"No," Andrew said without hesitation. There was a dangerous edge to Andrew's eyes. Sunlight made them burn.

"You said our deal would be finished when I was done running," Neil pointed out. When Andrew still didn't take the cigarette, he cupped it in front of himself and inhaled.

The memories of his mother's warnings weren't enough to make him turn back from this. He thought of her in her final moments. Instead of running like she'd always told Neil to, his mother had stood between Asmenys and her son. She'd known then she'd die, but she still did it.

"And if I don't think you've held up your end of our deal?" Andrew asked. 

"I'll make a new one with you," Neil said with a shrug, "I told you I was going to kill Riko. I can't do that if I'm running from the Empire." 

Ash broke off from the end of the cigarette Neil wasn't smoking. Neither of them watched it fall.

"Think of what you're willing to give me instead," Neil offered.

Andrew didn't answer, which meant he was considering it. Neil snubbed the cigarette out on the window ledge, leaving a short smear of ash. He pocketed the remains and left Andrew to make his decision. 

Mon Mothma was harder to find. She wasn't in Command, where he'd expected. It took asking nearly everyone on base to figure out she was overseeing operations in engineering. 

"Neil," Mon Mothma greeted him in surprise as he strode over to her. Neil was shocked she remembered his name--but it made sense she'd been keeping tabs on him, considering how he’d arrived on base.

"Chancellor," Neil returned. The title felt odd in his mouth, and it didn't sound convincing. "Can we speak?"

Mon Mothma excused herself from the rebels she'd been addressing, and followed Neil out to the hallway. He waited for a few sleepy engineers to pass out of earshot.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Neil?" Mon Mothma asked blandly. He could see the curiosity in her expression, despite her mild tone.

Neil set his shoulders, leveling Mon Mothma with the determination of his glare.

"I can get you the Death Star Plans." Mon Mothma drew in a sharp breath.

"What do you mean?" She asked. She didn't look like she truly believed him, but her desperation had grown enough that she might if given reason to.

"I won't do it for free," Neil warned her, "But I'm the only one on this planet that can get you those plans."

"How?" She asked. Before he could answer, she added, "What do you want?"

She'd already agreed, even if she didn't realize. The leader of the Rebellion was willing to give Neil anything for his help. He didn't think he'd have this opportunity many times in the future. If he had a future. 

"Let's make a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me on the wiki double-checking info on lightsaber construction and history. There's so much there, honestly, it'd be a good read on its own.
> 
> I honestly don't think Neil would have something super complex in design for his lightsaber. What kind of strange lightsaber do you think would suit him otherwise? (Maybe something long-distance? Ezra's blaster/lightsaber combo was pretty cool.)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parting words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, it's been unbearably hot where I live lately. Hope everyone else has been keeping cool!

The command center was as imposing as it was the first time Neil had seen it. The faces surrounding Neil were ghoulish in the white light of the table they circled. He could read from their expressions that the overall reaction to his proposal was skeptical. This was Mon Mothma's second time hearing it, and she waited in stoic silence to let the others contemplate. The revelation that Neil had ties to the Empire--although none of these people seated here knew how tightly those ties ran—tempered their reluctance.

"It's reckless," General Wymack finally said. His hands gripped the armrests of his seat tightly like he might rip them off. He wasn’t a fan of reckless, then.

"It is," Neil agreed. 

Neil had spent the morning outlining the skeleton of his plan before Rebel Command, but he hadn't given away anything more than was necessary for it to succeed. As far as they knew, Neil had a connection that could get him admitted into the Imperial Academy. Through the Academy, Neil would be able to maneuver his way up the ranks of his class until he gathered enough intel to figure out where the Death Star plans were being kept.

Elite students were given access to the Academy Archives stored only in the Academy's central database. The Archives held access to all military data--which Neil could confirm from his own brief contact with them. Of course, the Inquisitorial Archives were just as extensive, if not more. And they were Neil’s actual target.

"How long would this operation take?" Someone cut in.

"A few weeks, at least," Neil answered, after consideration.

"That's too long," a gruff Ithorian diplomat argued, "The Empire could destroy half the galaxy by then."

"It isn't likely the Empire will deploy the Death Star again so soon," Mon Mothma interjected. She paused to let them brace for the weight of her explanation. "They've already made their demonstration--their threat has been received. They can't squander their remaining...leverage too quickly. First they'll want an exchange. Or surrender. Destroying any more planets could risk the stability of the galaxy they're working so hard to conquer--they'll need to stabilize Alderaan's loss before moving forward."

The thoughtful silence returned, but this time it was slightly more hopeful.

"Your contact is trustworthy?" A Kaminoan general asked.

"If he can trust the pay, we can trust him," Neil answered somewhat truthfully. It wasn't _his_ contact, exactly, and trustworthy wasn’t a word that would stick too well to him. But Neil knew how he worked, and that was more than could be said for the rest of the galaxy's outlaws. The Kaminoan nodded like that logic satisfied her.

"How soon can you get in touch with him?" Mon Mothma asked. 

"I already put the request out. He can have his resources gathered by the end of the day."

Rebel Command didn't trust Neil fully, and they shouldn't. He was lying to them, even if it meant getting them what they wanted. The risk was less in Neil being caught and killed, more in him being caught and interrogated, and mostly in him betraying them willingly to the Empire. Everything he'd learned while he'd worked with the rebels could be enough to deal the final blow that would take them down. Especially the location of this base. 

"They won't use the Death Star soon, but they will eventually," Neil reminded them, "The Emperor isn't afraid of using his might to get others to fold to his demands. And the  _safety_ of the galaxy isn't enough to keep the Butcher at bay for long."

Neil didn't like using the crude title the Outer Rim had given his father, but the way it made everyone in the room shudder to hear it was exactly what he needed to push them in the right direction. It wasn't enough to persuade General Wymack.

"It's still too reckless. The chance of you getting caught is too high, Neil. You'll be killed." The general's voice was rough like he was trying to be assertive. It fell shy of assertive, and landed somewhere in the midst of concerned, much to Neil's bewilderment.

"It's the best chance you've got," Neil insisted.

"It might be the only chance we've got," Mon Mothma added significantly. 

Wymack stood from his seat. "We can't risk him. We'll find another way--"

"General," Mon Mothma interjected sternly, "We are running out of time. Neil's plan is reckless, yes, but it gives us a better chance than us sitting here trying to figure out an alternative that will have just as much chance of succeeding. We've heard Neil's plan," Mon Mothma stood now, and set her hands on the table with finality, "Let's take a vote. Should we send Neil to infiltrate the Imperial Academy?"

Everyone but General Wymack voted in Neil's favor. 

Neil couldn't read the expression on the general's face as everyone dispersed from their seats. Mon Mothma caught him while she was leaving. 

"I'll honor your request as soon as you make contact to let us know you have the plans," she promised in a low voice. 

“Roger, roger,” Neil replied with a mock salute. He got a wry look for that.

Neil caught Wymack’s eye over Mon Mothma’s shoulder. Wymack's mouth stiffened in a resigned frown.

"This plan smells like the back end of an airsick rancor," Wymack said as his bulk cut Neil off from the door. Neil couldn't resist rolling his eyes, stepping back.

"Like the rebels' have been doing great on their own so far," he retorted.

"Enough people have died throwing themselves at the Empire for intel on the Death Star." Wymack sighed like he was trying to shake decades worth of weariness and scrubbed a hand over his head.

"Fox Squadron will be on standby to extract you. If you think you're even  _close_ to being compromised, hail the Foxes and they'll pull you. Neil," Wymack said with meaning, "If someone so much as squints at you, give the signal."

"I will," Neil replied, somewhat truthfully. 

Wymack crossed his arms and raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"It needs to be done," Neil said simply, "I'll be fine."

"You say that an awful lot. I'm starting to think you don't know what it means." A voice cut in from behind Wymack. Wymack stepped aside, and Neil saw Dan and Matt  standing there in their bright orange jumpsuits. Matt flashed them a smile while Dan brushed his comment aside to address Wymack.

"General, the Admiral sent us here for debriefing. We got some of the details, but we need to know particulars," Dan said.

"Particularly, we need to know why Neil thinks it's a good idea to go undercover in the Imperial _doshing_ Academy," Matt said accusingly.

Wymack waved Matt's scolding away. "We already went through this. Neil is an idiot. And he's stubborn as a Tauntaun. He's going whether you take him, or he sneaks out with one of your X-wings and crashes it through the top levels of Coruscant. And Command's already given the order."

Dan and Matt exchanged a look like they might have a good idea where Command could shove their order. Wymack continued, ignoring it, "Wait 'til you actually hear what he's planning to do."

Neil ended up going over his plan with the Foxes even longer than he did with Command, but their time spent combing through it was far more productive. All he needed to give in detail were his routes in and out of Coruscant. They'd take him to his contact, who'd smuggle him onto Coruscant, and then they'd pick him up directly as soon as he had his hands on the plans.

Neil wasn't sure where he'd be when he retrieved the intel, so the rebels injected a beacon just under the skin behind his ear that would transmit his location to the Foxes once activated. It made Neil's skin crawl, but it was the most efficient way to get the Foxes to him as soon as possible. His life might depend on that speed.

Some of the other pilots in Fox Squadron filtered through for Dan's orders. Matt was sent off to inspect their X-wings with Renee while Allison and Seth checked their weapons systems. They returned routinely to report their progress, and what supplies they needed. Wymack pulled Neil aside at some point to run diagnostics on the beacon behind his ear, and test its signal.

Nicky barged into the hangar during their preparations, storming through the chaos that was the Foxes as they got their X-wings ready to go out. His expression was uncharacteristically angry. Aaron, Kevin, and Andrew followed him at a much slower pace.

"You are NOT going back to Coruscant," Nicky said in lieu of a greeting.

"You're awake," Neil commented. News traveled like the Blue Shadow virus through this place.

"Yeah, I'm awake—after Riko pfassking drugged me and hijacked our ship!" Nicky exclaimed. 

"Nice to see you, too," Wymack commented dryly.

"Hi, General," Nicky threw out before bulling ahead, "Neil, even when we thought they didn't see us coming, they  _saw us coming_. There's no way you can get back onto Coruscant without the  _entire Empire_ coming down on you with everything they've got. For the Maker’s sake, they've got your face plastered all over the HoloNet with a ridiculous bounty attached to it!"

"Nicky, I know the risk. I still have to do this," Neil replied.

"You can't go back there. They'll kill you if you do. I don't care what kinds of weird magic you can pull off." Nicky's anger lost some of its wind and his face fell. Neil felt Andrew's presence when he'd reached them, but he couldn't look over at him. He spoke to Nicky instead.

"They won't kill me, Nicky," He put as much assurance as he could in the statement, without explaining everything about his past.

The Emperor and his servants were far stronger than Neil, Nicky was right about that, but they wouldn't kill him before they tried to draw him back to their side. It would be agonizing torture, going back under their control, but it wouldn't be execution. Yet. Neil hoped he would find the information he needed before that changed.

Neil finally looked over at Andrew. His thumbs were hooked in his pockets, and he leaned back in a parody of carelessness. There was a painfully cruel tilt to his smile.

"I thought you said you were done running," Andrew mocked. 

"I am. I meant it when I told you I didn't need you to help me escape from the Empire anymore," Neil insisted. His eyes couldn't help being drawn to the implant wrapped around the back of Andrew's head, the scars that peeked out from its edges where the skin had chafed against it over the years.

"I didn't agree to change our deal," Andrew pointed out, "And now, how can I expect a corpse to deliver me the payment you promised?"

"They won't kill me," Neil repeated. Andrew might understand better than Nicky--Neil said it again, "They won't kill me. You'll have to trust me on this."

Andrew let out a laugh so sharp, it made the others flinch. "Trust you." He made the words sound like he'd never heard the phrase before. "You lie, and lie, and lie, and you think I'll trust you?"

Neil stepped forward, forcing Andrew to tilt his head up to look him in the eyes. "Then don't trust 'Neil,'" He said in a low voice.

Andrew didn't step back. He lifted the side of his upper lip in a snarl. "Oh, but who are you? Do you have a name? Or just the nickname the Inquisitors gave you?" 

Neil didn't let that remark sting. He took a breath. "If you need one, call me Abram." It felt strange to hear it aloud when nobody had called him 'Abram' since his mother's death. A reminder of his grief squeezed in his chest.

"Should I believe that?"

"It's the name my mother gave me," Neil admitted, "The one she used away from the Inquisitors, the Empire, all of it."

"And what's the name your mother used to call you to me?" Andrew's voice was thick with derision. "A fond memory for you to hold onto while they cut you into bite-sized pieces and hand feed you to the Emperor?"

Neil didn't want to waste time getting Andrew to understand by speaking with him. He reached out for Andrew's arms slowly, giving the other man enough time to draw away if he wanted to. Andrew didn’t pull away. He let Neil gently clasp his forearms and pull his palms up to Neil's temples.

Andrew's hands were hot against Neil's skin. He dug his fingertips into Neil's scalp like he wanted to rip his hair out. Neil didn't break eye contact as he felt for Andrew's mind in the Force. Their involuntary connection at Riko's hand made it easier to find, like jumping to an established hyperspace lane. Neil felt their breathing even out together, and their eyes closed.

Neil had much better control over what passed through the force-connection this time. He let Andrew into his own mind without pushing back to reach into Andrew's, allowing only what he wanted Andrew to see to rise to the surface. It was like letting Andrew feel out the scars engraved onto Neil's life without opening up the wounds. Neil let the truth of his conviction pass through Andrew's fingertips.

It was unlike any time Darth Asmenys had been in Neil's thoughts. Everywhere Asmenys touched burned like he'd taken a lightsaber to Neil’s mind to carve his way through. Andrew's presence burned differently, but Neil didn't know if it was pleasant or uncomfortable. 

When he was finished, Neil let go of Andrew's arms. Andrew's smile was gone, and his eyes had darkened with the dilation of his pupils. He didn't move his hands, digging them further into Neil's hair instead.

"Do you understand?" Neil asked quietly. Andrew's fingers twitched against Neil's skin. He finally dragged them away.

“Our deal isn’t done,” Andrew said. Neil knew what he meant.

”What are you willing to offer me?” Neil asked.

”If you make it back alive, you’ll find out.” Neil nodded.

”Hold on,” Nicky interrupted, “I still don’t think Neil should go back to Coruscant.”

”Leave it, Nicky. The idiot thinks he can do it. Let martyrs suffocate in their cockpits.” Andrew beckoned for his crew to follow him out as he turned to leave the hangar.

Aaron gave Neil a bemused look as he obeyed. Nicky shook his head. “I can’t help you plan your own death, Neil.” He gave the Foxes a pained look before leaving. Kevin stayed behind.

”You’re doing this for Andrew,” Kevin said, low enough that Wymack and the Foxes couldn’t overhear. Neil didn’t say anything, which Kevin took as confirmation.

”If you’re captured by Riko he’ll drag you so deep into the Dark Side, you’ll never be able to come back from it. You’re already so close,” Kevin warned him. Kevin didn’t know that Riko wasn’t going to hunt Neil down—Neil was going directly to him.

“Can you hold onto something for me?” Neil asked, pulling Kevin away from thoughts of the Inquisitor, “Keep it safe until I’m back? I don’t want to leave it unguarded.”

Neil unshouldered his pack and handed it over to Kevin. It felt like he’d just cut off his arm and given it away. Kevin took the pack, giving Neil a questioning look. Neil’s eyes hardened as he said, “Don’t look inside.”

A sick expression passed over Kevin’s face—maybe he was remembering Neil’s fight with Riko on Coruscant. “I don’t want to know.”

”Thank you,” Neil said sincerely. All he’d take with him was his lightsaber. It was all he’d need. Neil felt its weight against the pouch tied to his thigh. The holocron could go nowhere near the Inquisitorius.

Kevin didn't take Neil's thanks. He left Neil with only a remorseful frown.

 "When did that happen?" Wymack questioned Neil as soon as they were alone again. The Foxes had studiously pretended to ignore the entire exchange between Neil and Andrew's crew, and were still bustling around Dan's nearby X-Wing like it needed special attention.

"When did what?" Neil asked.

"You and Minyard?" Wymack elaborated. Neil shook his head in confusion. The entire Rebellion knew Neil had been working with Andrew when he landed on this moon.

Wymack eyed him. "Forget it." He turned away, and barked, "Fox Squadron, stop fawning over Captain Wilds' X-wing and get back to work!"

Neil watched as they scattered to their own fighters. Matt threw him a sheepish grin while he jogged away. Neil returned it with a faint smile of his own. If there was any rebel squadron he trusted with this, it was Fox squadron. He'd already seen their skills firsthand.

Yavin IV was dark by the time Neil's contact got in touch with him through Neil's comm. The Foxes were ready to escort him, waiting for the go-ahead from Wymack. He gave it after a last round of checks and a gruff goodbye to Neil.

Neil was riding with Matt, who was thrilled to show Neil around his fighter. There was a giant set of dueling dice hanging by a string to the side of the windshield, and a holodisplay that held an image of Dan and Matt with their arms around each other glowed in the cockpit. Matt kissed a worn sabacc deck before lifting off, letting Neil know they were his lucky cards. 

A surprising warmth enveloped him as he listened to Matt chatter while they flew to the rendezvous point. He knew he wouldn't have that sense of comfort for long, so he let himself settle into it, holding onto it as they exited hyperspace and a familiar dusty planet appeared in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or that time nobody liked Neil's Bad Plan and he had to justify himself too many times.
> 
> Let me know how you felt about the chapter! ^_^


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Return to Darkness

_"Only two Sith Lords may exist under the rule of the Dark Side. One whose hunger draws it in, and one to be its vessel. A master, and an apprentice. The Sith Empires of old allowed themselves to spread the Darkness too thin, weakening it so the Light Side could strike through. It is why they failed, where the Emperor has succeeded."_

_Abram was kneeling at his father's feet, his eyes cast up to the smoking sky of Mustafar. Darth Asmenys' silhouette was a plume of smoke against that sky. His voice burned._

_"You will either survive your training, and become one of two, or you will perish like many before you. Stand."_

_Abram obeyed, ash flaking from his knees to drift in the hot currents of air._

_Darth Asmenys' eyes blazed with the yellow light of the Sith as they regarded Abram. There were times Abram's eyes had succumbed to the same influence of the Dark Side, but his horror at seeing his father's likeness reflected on his own face was enough to jar him out of it each time. Asmenys' gaze returned to the horizon, rimmed in an orange glow from the rivers of lava that cut through the planet's surface._

_"I sense your confusion. You question why I would train a pupil who is meant to kill me. Tell me, Tyro. Why would I do such a thing?"_

_Abram_ had _been wondering why his father, who sought to be the most powerful being in the galaxy, would devise the beginnings of his own demise. Not that Abram expected he could ever defeat Darth Asmenys. He let the question simmer in his mind, turning it over until the answer came to him._

_"The apprentice must affirm their will to master the Dark Side over all else--so the Darkness is called to their craving. The only way for them to prove it is through force against those that challenge them. A stronger challenger proves stronger conviction," Abram answered._

_There was a chill that bit into the air despite Mustafar's scorching temperatures. It welled from within the marrow of Abram's bones. Darth Asmenys was the root of the Darkness that choked the air around them. Abram found it hard to breathe through the pressure._

_"Only two Sith Lords can live in order to resurrect the full power of the Dark Side." Darth Asmenys slid his fingers through the ash that cluttered the air, gathering it with the Force until it solidified under his hand in the form of a dagger. "But there must always be another who is worthy enough to test the edge of their blade._ _A master, an apprentice, and a sacrifice."_

_Abram was that sacrifice. His father brought the dagger to his throat, pressing it in just enough for Abram to feel it, before releasing it in an implosion of smoke. He smiled when he saw the expression that passed over Abram's face. It showed too many of his teeth to be sincere._

_"First stance, Tyro. Let's make you worthy."_

 

“ _Jen’woyunoks_ ,” a disdainful voice greeted Neil as he was dragged down the gangplank of the repurposed shuttle. Neil felt a wry sense of nostalgia at the familiar sight of an Imperial Star Destroyer's hangar bay, but it might just have been the ache in his head from the blow he'd taken to it earlier. The stickiness of blood in his hair made his scalp itch.

Neil had been beaten and bound with Force cuffs, and all he could do in response to the scornful greeting was pull his eyes up to face his welcoming party with defiance. Only Jean stood in the hangar to receive his glare. Neil’s eyes darted around, skimming shadows and ships to see if Riko was lurking nearby.

”You were not worth interrupting his business,” Jean explained. Neil raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"You sure he isn't still licking his wounds from the last time we met?" Neil asked. Jean's nostrils flared at Neil's insolence.

The pirate holding Neil by the scruff of his shirt shook him roughly to shut him up, making the throbbing of his head thunder dizzily.

"Payment?" The creature grunted intelligently.

"You'll find the credits have already been transferred to the drop-coordinates you provided when hailing us," Jean answered. His lip curled in distaste as he gave the pirate a once-over. Neil understood the look, and even more so the wrinkling of his nose as the pirate hauled Neil over to Jean.

Neil stumbled as he changed hands, no longer held up by the pirate's clumsy grip. Jean righted him before he could fall flat on his face. He gave Neil an assessing once-over.

"He was wanted unharmed," Jean remarked to the pirate. He pressed his fingers to the wound on Neil's head, and they came away red. A dark look shadowed his face. "You're lucky he's alive, or your payment would have been null."

"It put up a fight," the pirate grumbled defensively.

Jean's disapproving expression didn't budge, but he let the issue go. He held out an expectant hand to the pirate who stared at it dumbly. 

"S'that for?" They asked. They sensed the Inquisitor's irritation sharpen. "Er, sir."

"His belongings. I assume you didn't find him empty handed?" Jean answered icily. The pirate shifted guiltily on their feet. 

"My patience only extends so far," Jean warned. The pirate reluctantly tugged Neil's lightsaber free from a grubby fold in their jacket and handed it over. Neil's jaw tightened as he saw it pass into the Inquisitor's hands. 

"Crude," Jean commented.

"That was all it had," The pirate said. Jean turned the lightsaber over in his fingers, scrutinizing it. Finally, he clipped it to his belt and folded his hands behind his back.

"Our business is finished," Jean declared dismissively. The pirate glowered at both being brushed off, and losing his loot, but didn't complain. Neil's bounty was enough to appease any rudeness.

The shuttle lifted off and disappeared into space, leaving Jean and Neil alone in the hangar.

"You should not have been caught," Jean said quietly to Neil, "You are going to die here."

Neil doubted he'd die right there, but the dread at hearing Jean say it still made his heart beat nauseously in panic. He breathed heavily through his nostrils to stamp it out. He'd been doing the same thing a thousand times over on his journey here.  

"Let's go," Neil said.

Jean released Neil from his hold and gestured for him to follow as he walked away. Neil felt clumsy with his sense of the Force cut off. The cuffs chafing at his wrists prevented him from reaching out to it.

Jean ignored Neil’s labored motions, leading the way through the Destroyer silently. Those they encountered passing through the halls of the ship averted their eyes from the Inquisitor and shrank into the walls as if trying to disappear into them.

Neil already knew they were heading to the cell bay. Jean led him to the same sector of high-security cells where Neil had first met Kevin. 

"The Grand Inquisitor will be coming to retrieve you personally," Jean informed Neil. His voice was disinterested, and Neil recognized the cauterization of emotion that came with training under the Dark Side.

"What an honor," Neil said. He was shoved into the bare cell, and had to throw his hands out for balance. 

"Enjoy the solace of being alone in your thoughts,  _Jen'woyunoks._ It won't be long before your mind is no longer yours to control."

The door closed behind Neil with a hiss, and only the dull light of the cell was left for company. Neil dropped to the floor where he stood, not bothering to drag himself over to one of the uncomfortable benches along the wall. He curled over his knees, ragged breaths sawing through him.

The shackles on his wrists muted Neil's connection to the Force against his will. A discomfort he needed to bear if he wanted his plan to succeed. They were the rarest, most expensive request he'd made to Hondo when setting up this scheme. The cuffs, along with the gash on his head, gave Neil cover to infiltrate the Inquisitorius. A loud bounty, a history of cowardice, and one of Hondo's lackeys to act the lucky pirate topped it off.

Neil had a long way to go before he knew if it would work.

Neil hadn't reached out to the Dark Side for years while he'd been on the run with his mother. It had become instinct to shun his link to the Force . Lately, he'd allowed himself to be pulled too fast under the Force's current. He was raw from exposure.

 _If your father ever catches us, he will destroy us._ _Abram, never let him find you. Don't look back to the Dark Side. He will always be there waiting for you._

Mary would never forgive Neil for throwing everything she'd sacrificed--her life--away by giving himself over to the Empire. To the Dark Side. All for some man Neil barely knew. 

Since meeting Andrew, Neil had been skimming just barely at the edges of the Darkness. If he fell into his father's hands, his mother's prophecy would come true. He would be destroyed in it.

It had been long enough for Neil to pick himself off the floor to doze on one of the stiff benches when the door to his cell finally whooshed open again. Three figures stepped into the room.

" _Jen'woyunoks._ " Darth Asmenys' Grand Inquisitor spoke like every syllable was peeled from the bottom of his boots.

Neil stood from the bench to face this creature on even footing. The Grand Inquisitor was the aftermath of the Dark Side manifested physically. His body had weathered the Darkness' merciless influence, and it showed. Purple bruises pressed up under the graying skin under his eyes, and he hunched over an elaborate cane that he gripped with worn hands. 

Despite the appearance of weakness, Neil knew the Grand Inquisitor was one of the strongest Force-sensitive beings in the galaxy. 

Jean and Riko unfolded from the Grand Inquisitor's shadow with practiced grace. Riko couldn't hide the gleam of hatred in his eyes as they tracked Neil. There was an ugly cybernetic arm replacing the one he'd lost in their last fight. Neil could see Riko had foregone synthflesh and instead flaunted the gaudy enhancements of his new appendage.

" _Kneel,_ " the Grand Inquisitor ordered in the Old Tongue.

Neil braced himself, hands still confined by the Force cuffs. "No."

Jean exhaled what sounded like a warning, but Neil could barely hear it over the pounding of his heart in his ears. Neil felt a weight in the air that made both Inquisitors shift instinctively away from their master.

" _You will kneel,_ " The Grand Inquisitor seethed, eyes flashing. 

Neil's mouth warped into his father's smile. "Make me."

The Grand Inquisitor whipped his cane up so it struck Neil on the uninjured side of his head. The impact of the floor as the momentum of the blow knocked him over almost made him black out. The Grand Inquisitor flicked the cane like he was shaking dirt off of it and spun it over in his hand. 

The hum of a lightsaber igniting accompanied the appearance of two red blades being unsheathed from either end of the cane. The Grand Inquisitor turned one of those blades on Neil, close enough he could feel the energy coming off of it.

" _You've forgotten your teachings. I would spare you the agony of  keeping you alive to relearn them, but you are still needed by Darth Asmenys._ "

The Grand Inquisitor forced Neil up so his knees brushed the ground where he hung.

" _Your connection to the Dark Side is so weak, your father will find you wanting. He's tasked me with stripping you of the weakness your mother has instilled in you while you’ve been away from his guidance. To prepare you for when you return to him.”_

The Grand Inquisitor released Neil, and Neil’s knees hit the floor with a shock he could feel in his teeth.

 _”Inquisitor Jean, remove his shackles._ "

Without the Force cuffs, the Darkness amassed in Neil's cell was too much to bear. He felt it sear into his every cell like blackened frostbite. There was a ringing in his ears he realized was his own cry of pain rebounding around the cell. The Grand Inquisitor spoke to Neil as his consciousness was ripped away.

" _Your lessons begin here, Jen'woyunoks. Do not disappoint me by dying before they’re done._ "

 

Neil didn't wake in his cell. He came to on his feet, in a pitch black room. There was a steady sound of dripping water that echoed too loudly around him. He was shivering. 

" _You've done it."_ The voice that spoke was unnatural, like someone had looped it through time so it overlapped with itself. Neil didn't know who was speaking. Terror gripped him inexplicably. He couldn't respond.

At the sound of the voice, a rancid odor spread thickly through room, and Neil gagged on it. He had smelled the same thing in the alleyways of Coruscant, in the unforgiving wastes of Tatooine. It was the dead, rotting.

Suddenly, a light flicked on in the far end of the room. Neil could barely make out the small form of a boy crouched on the ground what seemed like hectometers away. He was shivering.

" _I don't remember_ ," a childish voice said. It reverberated over itself like the other voice. Neil couldn't pinpoint where it came from. The sound of water dripping intensified.

Neil felt fluid seeping through his fingers. He looked down at his hands. They were cupped, dark blood spilling over his palms. There was something sprawled at his feet.

" _You are a vessel of the Dark Side, now. Your sacrifice makes you worthy to carry out its will._ " The child started crying, sobs echoing throughout the room. 

" _Sh_ _e's dead._ "

Neil felt his own eyes welling up. Tears overflowed onto his cheeks.

" _Not yet. This is your final test, Jen'woyunoks. Finish it._ "

Darth Asmenys' lightsaber ignited at the boy's side. Neil breathed out sharply in horror before he could catch himself.

Both father and child’s heads swiveled to look at him. Their eyes glowed yellow.

Mary's hand shot up suddenly from the ground to grip Neil's ankle.  _"Run, Abram._ "

 

Brilliant light stung too sharply on Neil's eyes as they snapped open to take in the interrogation room around him. The familiar clicking of a probe droid greeted him in his dawning consciousness. Neil hadn't been put under the influence of a probe droid since his childhood, and the experience left him shaken and breathing hard.

The vision the droid had provoked had been a distortion of memory, something deformed by the Dark Side to flay Neil’s sanity from him. While the events of the vision weren't real, the intent behind them had been taken from Neil's own mind.

Sweat matted Neil's hair to his head. A gag had been shoved deep into Neil's mouth during the session--he guessed to prevent him from biting through his own tongue and choking on his blood more than to keep him quiet. It made it harder for Neil to breathe, and he felt nausea rising up through his gut.

”Pathetic." Jean stepped out from behind the seat Neil had been strapped down to. The probe droid drifted beside him, orbiting their heads.

"If you cannot handle even this much, you will never pass the Grand Inquisitor's trials," Jean said to him. He pulled the gag from Neil's mouth, and Neil had to choke down the bile that lurched up onto the back of his tongue.

"I grew up with a probe droid in my head. I can handle this," Neil said. His throat was sore, and speaking hurt.

"You're out of practice. Your mind is weak. You've let your emotional attachments eat at you like parasites.  You're going to get the both of us killed."

"Us?" Neil asked.

"Inquisitors operate on a pair-based system. I've had the misfortune of being partnered with you. It means your success is my success, and your failure is my failure," Jean explained.

"I thought Riko was your partner."

"That's not your concern."

Neil wondered if that meant Riko had been paired with someone else, or was allowed to work on his own. He pushed the matter aside to address more pressing ones.

"When will we be reaching Coruscant?" Neil asked. The sooner he had access to the Inquisitorial Archives on-base on Coruscant, the sooner he could escape from the Inquisitors.

"We won’t be leaving this system until your training is done and you are prepared for Darth Asmenys," Jean answered as if Neil were a child, "You have too much resistance to the Dark Side as you are now. The Grand Inquisitor will break you over and over until you’ve been rid of that impediment. Only then will you be worthy of meeting with your father.”

This was a hydrospanner thrown in Neil’s plan. He’d expected to be taken to Coruscant as soon as he’d been “captured.” From there he would have found a way to get into the archives to root out the intel he needed. Then he'd escape from the Inquisitors and return to the Rebels. Now, Neil didn't know how long he'd be stuck in the Inquisitor's captivity, or how long he could withstand it.

Jean caught the tension that gripped Neil as he learned this new information.

"Did you think you were ready to face him? You would be crushed in nanoseconds if he were to see you now. You will undergo training here, and only when you can withstand true Darkness will you be reunited with your master," Jean said. 

"Next lesson." Jean stuffed the gag back into Neil's mouth, and stepped back. The shadows beyond the light beaming down on Neil absorbed Jean like one of their own.

Neil tried to bring the memory of warmth he’d felt in the cockpit of Matt’s X-wing to himself. The memory of Kevin and Nicky bickering over a game of dejarik in Eden’s Twilight. Of the light of Andrew’s cigarette splayed out against his fingertips. Neil held these things around himself like armor, knowing he would need every protection he could get. 

"Droid, proceed,” Jean ordered.

A syringe pricked the side of Neil's neck roughly. He was thrown back into Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neil's tactic of using himself as bait to get what he wants is definitely why Andrew hates him.
> 
> I vaguely recall the theory of Force cuffs, but can neither confirm nor deny the truth of their existence in canon. In this case, the flexibility of fanfiction helps me out here ^_^' 
> 
> Thanks for reading, guys! And for all the comments you've been posting. I appreciate all of them so much! 
> 
> Let me know how you felt about this chapter, and how your summers have been! <3


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